Sony Reports Record Half-Year Net Income

TOKYO —  Sony Corp. reported record half-year group profit as demand for its digital electronics products soared and the film “Men in Black” helped spur a revival in its Hollywood studios.

Group net profit for the six months to Sept. 30 surged 76% to $751.5 million.

Sony, Japan’s second-largest consumer electronics maker after Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., raised its sales and earnings forecasts for the full year ending March 31, citing rising global demand for electronics products such as its PlayStation video-game system, video cameras and cellular telephones.

Sony’s success in selling these devices was matched by a strong performance from its film division, whose top management was changed after a string of costly high-profile flops like “The Cable Guy” and “Striptease.”

Summer hits including “Men in Black,” “Air Force One” and “My Best Friend’s Wedding” helped push revenue from Sony’s movie business up 59% from a year earlier to $2.5 billion..

The momentum has continued in the current quarter as Sony dominates the market with films such as “I Know What You Did Last Summer.”

“Sony’s film division is on a roll,” said analyst Gary Farber of NatWest Securities Ltd.

Sony is No. 1 at the box office this year, with 22.4% of gross revenue, according to Paul Kagan & Associates.

The yen’s decline against the dollar helped boost the company’s first-half results.

That helped Sony and other Japanese exporters because the yen value of profits earned overseas increases as the currency weakens, allowing them to cut prices without harming earnings.

The Southeast Asian currency crisis won’t hurt the company’s earnings because Sony produces more goods in the region for export to other areas than it sells there, said Masayoshi Morimoto, a Sony director and senior vice president.

Asian countries account for about 13% of sales for Sony’s electronics business and 52% of its electronics output, Morimoto said.

Sony shares reached a record high of $104.32 on Aug. 1 and are more than 43% higher today than they were a year ago. Sony American depositary receipts rose 88 cents to $83.25 on Thursday.