Sony reported fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue that beat forecasts thanks to a strong performance from its PlayStation gaming business, and said it expects its best profit since 1998.

The Japanese electronic giant reported the following numbers for the three months to September 30:

• Sales of 2.06 trillion Japanese yen ($18.2 billion) vs 1.86 trillion yen expected, according to Reuters data. This was also a 22.1 percent year-on-year rise.
• Operating profit of 204 billion yen vs 135.6 billion yen expected. This market a 346.4 percent rise.

Sony also raised its dividend in the second quarter to 12.50 Japanese yen from 10 Japanese yen.

The Japanese giant said it now expects operating income for the year ending March 31 to be 630 billion Japanese yen. If realized, this would be the highest ever profit for the company since its record-breaking year in 1998 when it earned 526 billion yen. During this period, Sony’s first PlayStation console was proving very successful.

Sony shares were trading around 2.7 percent higher after the results.

Source: Tech CNBC
Sony earnings rise 346% thanks to PlayStation with the company set for best profits since 1998