Sony Corp. said Thursday its group net profit in fiscal 2002 skyrocketed to 115.52 billion yen -- more than 7.5 times its 15.3 billion yen profit the previous year -- on strong movie sales and cost cutting.
The consumer electronics giant's group operating profit jumped 37.7 percent to 185.44 billion yen, while group sales fell 1.4 percent to 7.47 trillion yen. But the year finished on a worrisome note as the firm suffered large losses in the last quarter.
Sony's movie division posted record sales of 802.8 billion yen, up 26.3 percent from as year earlier, thanks to a string of blockbusters, including "Spider-Man" and "Men in Black II," which helped push its operating profit to a record 59 billion yen.