Sony Corp. said Tuesday its fiscal 2020 net profit is expected to fall 12.4 percent from a year earlier to 510 billion yen ($4.8 billion), as the coronavirus pandemic has hit its movie and digital camera businesses.

Sony, which released its earnings projections for the business year through next March for the first time, said its net profit in the April-June period, however, surged 53.3 percent to 233.25 billion yen on robust demand for gaming products as many people had to stay home after the novel coronavirus swept the world.

In the first quarter, Sony's operating profit fell 1.1 percent to 228.40 billion yen, on sales of 1.97 trillion yen, up 2.2 percent from a year earlier.

Sony said its sales of gaming software and subscription-based online services for PlayStation are expected to grow, but those of electronics products such as digital cameras and image sensors for smartphones are likely to decline due to weak personal consumption amid the pandemic.

The company said its production of music and movie content has been hampered by the spread of the virus and fewer releases will lower the bottom line.

Its full-year operating profit is projected to drop 26.7 percent to 620 billion yen, on estimated sales of 8.3 trillion yen, up 0.5 percent from a year earlier.

==Kyodo

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