Sony Hack Will Not Derail Profit Turnaround

Sony (Swiss: SONC.SW - news) has said it does not expect the devastating hacking attack against its film arm to affect the company's return to profit.

Profits of 20 billion yen (£112m) are forecast for the year ending in March, following a 40 billion yen (£224m) loss the previous fiscal year.

Sony Corporation (Other OTC: SNEJF - news) said stronger than expected sales of its PlayStation 4 gaming console were boosting its finances.

It also said it was benefiting from solid sales of devices, higher network services revenue and an upturn in its financial services business.

However, continuing decline in its mobile phone business has seen some 1,100 jobs being marked out for closure.

The company has scaled back its operations in China as cheaper handset makers such as Xiaomi gobble up more of the market.

Both Sony's music and movie divisions benefited from a weakening Japanese yen, which improves profit earned in dollars when brought back to Japan.

Results for the October to December period had been delayed after the hacking attack on Sony Pictures Entertainment.

The cyberattack, which the FBI says originated in North Korea , was in retaliation for The Interview, a Sony film depicting a fictional plot to assassinate Kim Jong-Un.

The Interview has since become Sony's highest-selling online film of all time.