Optimistic Sony flogs family jewels to get back to black

Optimistic Sony flogs family jewels to get back to black
PS4 - should be a key product for Sony

Sony is back in the black according to its latest figures, but the ailing Japanese giant's profit has to be tempered by the revelation that it has been selling off some of the family jewels.

Sony's year end results (to March 31) showed a 43 billion yen net profit (around $436m or £280m) - that's a big turnaround from last year when it posted a 457 billion yen loss - and the forecast for the next 12 months is to stay at a similar level.

But, before we start dusting off the Sony renaissance headlines it should be pointed out that this turnaround has partly been about currency markets (hat tip to the weakening yen) and also thanks to asset sales.

Fixer upper wins

Those assets include shares in medical research company M3, the company's US headquarters in New York and the Sony City Osaki building in Tokyo.

There is optimism for Sony, however, with the PS4 looming large on the horizon, although it remains to be seen if the next generation console can become the kind of force that the PS2 managed to be.

The difficult television market, the rise of Samsung and Apple and the horrific 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami have made Sony's life tough in recent years, although devices like the well-received Sony Xperia Z hark back to former glories.

TOPICS
Patrick Goss

Patrick Goss is the ex-Editor in Chief of TechRadar. Patrick was a passionate and experienced journalist, and he has been lucky enough to work on some of the finest online properties on the planet, building audiences everywhere and establishing himself at the forefront of digital content.  After a long stint as the boss at TechRadar, Patrick has now moved on to a role with Apple, where he is the Managing Editor for the App Store in the UK.

Latest in Tech
Josie and Matt laughing in front of the Google Pixel 9a
TechRadar Podcast: Is the Pixel 9a ugly? Has Apple ruined the smartwatch market? And is Samsung's One UI in trouble?
A Lego Pikachu tail next to a Pebble OS watch and a screenshot of Assassin's Creed Shadow
ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories from LG's excellent new OLED TV to our Assassin's Creed Shadow review
A triptych image of the Meridian Ellipse, LG C5 and Xiaomi 15.
5 amazing tech reviews of the week: LG's latest OLED TV is the best you can buy and Xiaomi's seriously powerful new phone
Beats Studio Pro Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones in Black and Gold on yellow background with big savings text
The best Beats headphones you can buy drop to $169.99 at Best Buy's Tech Fest sale
Ray-Ban smart glasses with the Cpperni logo, an LED array, and a MacBook Air with M4 next to ecah other.
ICYMI: the week's 7 biggest tech stories from Twitter's massive outage to iRobot's impressive new Roombas
A triptych image featuring the Sennheiser HD 505, Apple iPad Air 11-inch (2025), and Apple MacBook Air 15-inch (M4).
5 unmissable tech reviews of the week: why the MacBook Air (M4) should be your next laptop and the best sounding OLED TV ever
Latest in News
Garmin clippd integration
Garmin's golf watches just got a big software integration upgrade to help you improve your game
Robert Downey Jr reveals himself as Doctor Doom to a delighted crowd at San Diego Comic-Con 2024
Marvel is currently making a major announcement about Avengers: Doomsday's cast on YouTube, and I think it's going to be a long-winded reveal
Samsung QN90F on yellow background
Samsung announces US prices for its 2025 mini-LED TV lineup, and it’s good and bad news
Nintendo Switch Lite
Forget the Nintendo Switch 2, the original Switch is getting one last hurrah in a surprise Nintendo Direct tomorrow
The Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge on display the January 22, 2025 Galaxy Unpacked event.
Samsung Galaxy S25 Edge colors seemingly revealed in new video, and there’s another sign of an imminent launch
Microsoft Copiot Studio deep reasoning and agent flows
Microsoft reveals OpenAI-powered Copilot AI agents to bosot your work research and data analysis