Sony reports a nearly four-fold jump in third-quarter operating profit boosted by demand for its image sensors

Japan’s Sony Corp on Friday reported a nearly four-fold jump in third-quarter operating profit on growing demand for its image sensors, and raised its full-year earnings outlook. [caption id=“attachment_2083079” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Reuters image[/caption] The electronics firm posted an operating profit of 350.8 billion yen ($3.20 billion) for the October-December quarter, up from 92.4 billion yen a year ago. That was Sony’s highest third-quarter profit ever and far above a consensus estimate of 240.8 billion yen from 10 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. Sony raised its profit forecast for the year ending March to 720 billion yen from 630 billion yen, its best ever in its 72-year-old history. That compared with a consensus estimate of 680.93 billion yen from 23 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. Earlier in the day, Sony said that CEO **Kazuo Hirai** would be replaced by CFO Kenichiro Yoshida, effective 1 April. During Hirai’s six-year tenure, Sony has exited or cut back in areas such as PCs and TVs, and capitalised on the spread of smartphones with its image sensors.