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- Germany into Nations League quarters, France and Italy win
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- 'Pandas are coming': Two new bears depart China for US capital
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- Revived Italy sweep past Israel in Nations League amid high security
- Trudeau slams India as tensions soar over Sikh separatist's murder
- Harris courts Black voters as Trump makes inroads
- Wall Street stocks hit fresh records as oil prices slide
- Nigerian team return home after boycotting AFCON qualifier in Libya
- Nigeria refuse to play in Libya as Algeria, Cameroon qualify
- Strike-hit Boeing leaves experts puzzled by strategy
- Leweling rockets Germany past Dutch and into Nations League quarterfinals
- Kolo Muani double fires France to win in Belgium
- Italy sweep past Israel in Nations League amid high security
- UN peacekeepers to 'stay in all positions' in Lebanon
- NASA launches probe to study if life possible on icy Jupiter moon
- 'Unique' Ronaldo an example to everyone, says Martinez
- New lawsuits against Sean Combs allege sex assault, including of minor
- Italy begins migrant transfers to Albania with first group of 16
- Google signs nuclear power deal with startup Kairos
- Carsley open to foreign England manager amid Guardiola links
- Pogba hungry to have his football cake after doping ban
- India and Canada expel top envoys in Sikh separatist killing row
- Mbappe says victim of 'fake news' after 'rape' report in Sweden
- Lebanon says 21 killed in strike on northern village
- Netanyahu vows no mercy after deadly Hezbollah drone strike
- Russia could be able to attack NATO by 2030: German intelligence
- EVs seek to regain sales momentum at Paris Motor Show
- Clarke backs Scotland to bounce back from 'tough' run
- Harris, Trump target crucial Pennsylvania as US vote looms
- NASA probe Europa Clipper lifts off for Jupiter's icy moon
- Lebanese Red Cross says 18 killed in strike in north
- Mendy borrowed money from Man City team-mates for legal fees
- Palestinian officials say Israeli forces kill two in West Bank
- Football leagues, unions file EU complaint against FIFA in calendar dispute
- Nigeria boycott AFCON qualifier in Libya after 'inhumane treatment'
- India to recall top envoy to Canada: foreign ministry
- Hezbollah, Israeli troops in 'violent clashes' after drone strike
- China insists won't renounce 'use of force' to take Taiwan as drills end
- Painkiller sale plan to US gives France major headache
- Italy begins landmark migrant transfers to Albania
- Russia jails French researcher for three years
- 'Unsustainable' housing crisis bedevils Spain's socialist govt
- Stocks shrug off China disappointment but oil slides
- New Zealand 4-0 up in America's Cup but British show signs of life
Sony raises annual forecast despite Hollywood strikes, PS5 woes
Japanese electronics titan Sony lifted its full-year net profit and sales forecasts on Thursday, citing strength in the company's gaming, music and image-sensor sectors.
But the firm admitted it faced headwinds and some observers said there were concerns about the hit to the bottom line caused by Hollywood strikes and underwhelming PlayStation 5 sales.
Sony said it saw net profit hitting 880 billion yen ($5.8 billion) in the year to March 2024, up from the previous projection of 860 billion yen. Annual sales were seen at 12.4 trillion yen, compared with a previous estimate of 12.2 trillion yen.
"Sales are expected to be higher than the August forecast mainly due to higher-than-expected sales in the Game & Network Services, Music and Imaging & Sensing Solutions segments," Sony said in a financial statement.
A weaker yen helped boost the gaming and music sectors, with the latter also buoyed by "an increase in revenues from streaming services", it said.
Gaming has consistently been one of Sony's main driving forces, with the firm aiming to sell 25 million units of its new PlayStation 5.
While partially offset by an expected decrease in demand among automotive and industrial infrastructures, sales in the image-sensor sector were projected to be robust thanks to favourable foreign exchange rates, the firm said.
Still, Sony's net profit for July-September sank 29 percent from a year earlier to 200 billion yen. For the six months to September, net profit dropped 23 percent year-on-year to 417 billion yen.
Going forward, Sony pins its hopes partly on the profitability of image sensors.
While the sluggish smartphone market is squeezing profits, "we believe the improvement will progress slowly", Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki told a news conference after the results were released.
"There is no change to our view that the trend toward larger... mobile sensors will drive the overall growth of the image sensor market in the mid to long term," he said.
It also wants to prioritise "increasing the market penetration" of PS5, which it once described as "on course to become (the Sony gaming unit's) most successful console yet".
Totoki said while the firm intended to maintain its PS5 sales target, it admitted it was "not something that we can attain very easily".
The firm blamed recent strikes in Hollywood for dragging down the conglomerate's movie performance.
The action caused "date changes for some theatrical releases and restrictions on promotional activities in motion pictures", it said, forecasting "lower revenues" for films.
Industrial action by actors and screenwriters this year has seen work on numerous films and TV shows paused for months. But writers have come to an agreement with studios and actors on Wednesday reached a tentative deal to return to filming.
Even after the protracted strikes end, "it will take time for business activities to normalise due to the concentration of productions and theatrical releases", Totoki said.
"So we expect this to have a negative impact on next fiscal year's results."
Sony is "undergoing something of a rough patch", Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Toyo Securities, told AFP ahead of results, citing the strike and lacklustre progress in PS5 sales.
"Sales of the CMOS image sensors seem fine, but overall, the situation doesn't appear too good for Sony," he said.
Still, Kazunori Ito, at Morningstar, said: "The result is overall a tad weak. It raised the fiscal outlook, but since operating profit remained unchanged, the outlook hike was due mostly to a weak yen."
Sony's shares ended 0.8 percent lower in Tokyo, ahead of the earnings release.
J.Oliveira--AMWN