Sony Group Corp. on Thursday raised its net profit outlook for the current business year ending next March to 880 billion yen ($5.8 billion) from its earlier estimate of 860 billion yen, helped by its gaming, music and image sensor businesses.

Sony now expects sales to rise 13.0 percent from a year earlier to 12.40 trillion yen, revised up from 12.20 trillion yen projected earlier, as a weaker yen boosts the Japanese entertainment powerhouse.

The company maintained its operating profit forecast of 1.17 trillion yen, down 10.2 percent from the previous year.

For the six months to Sept. 30, Sony sold 8.2 million PlayStation 5 game consoles. However, the figure is still far from its annual target of 25 million units.

"It's an ambitious target to sell 25 million units, and it won't be achieved easily," President Hiroki Totoki said at a press briefing.

"But we see November and December as critical months (during the holiday shopping season), and we will strive to hit the target," he said, expressing hope that the popularity of Marvel's Spider-Man 2, a recently released software title, will aid the momentum.

Sony is more upbeat on the sales outlook for its game software, online games and music streaming services than in August.

A weaker yen has benefited Sony and is expected to help its bottom line throughout the business year. It revised its assumed rates for the dollar and euro against the yen sharply upward.

The upward revisions come despite weaker demand for car-use sensors and recent strikes in Hollywood hitting the entertainment industry.

Actors and screenwriters went on strike demanding better treatment and regulations on the use of artificial intelligence, causing delays in the release of some titles.

The negative impact of the strikes is expected to continue into the next fiscal year, according to Sony.

Despite the more upbeat forecasts, Totoki also said he is paying attention to slowing global economic growth and geopolitical risks that would change the business environment.

"For the second half, we will seek to solidify the foundation for future growth by expanding PS5 sales and its user base and improving profitability in the image sensor segment," he added.

While the revenue forecast for sensors destined for cars and industrial use was cut from its August estimate, Totoki said his company's growth target over the mid- to long-term has not changed.

For the April-September period, net profit fell 23.1 percent to 417.65 billion yen.

Operating profit dropped 29.7 percent to 516.05 billion yen, while sales increased 19.3 percent to 5.79 trillion yen.

==Kyodo

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