Shares of Sony Corp., the world's second-largest maker of consumer electronics, climbed the most in almost seven months after exceeding analyst estimates by forecasting a 20% rise in operating profit this year, reports Bloomberg News.
Sony surged 8.75 to close at 5,270 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The stock had its biggest gain since October, adding $4 billion in market value, after Nomura Securities Co. upgraded its investment rating. Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Nikko Citigroup Ltd. increased their price estimates on Sony.
The maker of the PlayStation 3 game console joined Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. in forecasting earnings that beat analyst estimates, easing concern over the slowing U.S. economy and stronger yen, which led
Toyota Motor Corp. to predict its first profit decline in nine years.
Sony said yesterday its games and TV operations, which analysts estimated would lose money, will turn profitable this year.
``It's good to see Sony is getting out of the situation where they walked toward death every time they sold another PlayStation 3,'' said Seiichiro Iwamoto, who helps look after $977 million at Mizuho Asset Management Co. in Tokyo.
Sony, based in Tokyo, said operating income will rise to 450 billion yen ($4.3 billion) in the year ending March 2009, exceeding the 400 billion yen median estimates of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
