Sony Corp. raised its annual profit forecast Thursday amid a weaker yen and gains from selling offices and stock holdings.
Net income was probably ¥40 billion in the year ended March, up from an earlier projection of ¥20 billion, the company said.
Selling properties and other investments have generated about $2 billion in profit for Sony as it tries to end seven straight years of losses from TV production. New devices, including Xperia smartphones and tablet computers, are part of Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai's focus on reviving the consumer electronics business after losing ground to Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co.
Preliminary operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, was ¥230 billion in the year, compared with its previous forecast of ¥130 billion, it said.
Sales in the year were ¥6.8 trillion compared with a previous forecast of ¥6.6 trillion, it said.
In February, Sony predicted a ¥115 billion gain from the sale of a stake in health care data provider M3 Inc.
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