Sony says 1H net profit off 15%, upgrades full year forecast

TOKYO (AP) - Sony Corp. says its net profit fell 15% in the first half of the year, though strong sales of entertainment and imaging sensors offset weakness in the games sector.

Tokyo-based Sony, which makes Bravia digital TVs and the Aibo robotic dog, upgraded its earnings forecast for the full fiscal year on expectations for stronger sales and lower taxes.

The company said Wednesday that its sales dipped 2% from a year earlier in April-September, to 4 trillion yen ($37.2 billion).

It said net profit was 340 billion yen ($3.1 billion), compared with 399 billion yen in the same period a year earlier.

Quarterly sales fell 3% to 2.1 trillion yen ($19.3 billion).

Sony's profit forecast for the year ending March 31, 2020, was 540 billion yen ($5 billion), up 8%.