Sony Back in the Black

Sony's quarterly profits rise to 32.2 billion Yen

After suffering a 7.3 billion yen loss this time last year, Sony had a huge resurgence for this year's second quarter. The company saw its revenue climb 11% to 1.74 trillion yen while its profits topped 32 billion yen. The company cites a large uptick in its consumer electronics and Sony Pictures divisions for the increases.

On the flip side, Sony's video games division saw revenues drop by 30%. PlayStation 2 hardware and software sales are on the decline (possibly due to the impending release of the PS3) and the PlayStation Portable is still facing increased pressure from Nintendo's popular DS portable gaming system. From GamesIndustry.biz:

The results have spurred speculation that Sony may be about to turn its fortunes around after several years of weak financial results and painful restructuring efforts. The firm's British chief executive Howard Stringer - who became the firm's first non-Japanese CEO when he was appointed a year ago - has continued the firm's restructuring efforts, and now appears to be reaping the rewards.

There is still hope for Sony's video games division with the November 17 release of the PS3. Sony will enter the ring as the defending champion in the console wars and with that comes some pretty big clout. On the other hand, developers upset over the pricing structure of the new console and poor yields on the Cell processor may put up more roadblocks.