Sony Q1 profits triple

Sony's Q1 operating profits have more than tripled from a year earlier due to strong digital camera sales and a softer Yen.

Sony reported operating profits of 99.32 billion Yen, or USD 825.6 million, up from 27.05 billion Yen the previous year. Net income more than doubled compared to Q1 2006.

Despite an increase in hardware sales, the company's game division reported a loss of 29.2 billion Yen, or UDS 245.3 million, primarly due to the loss arising from pricing the PlayStation 3 below its production costs.

Sony kept unchanged its operating profit forecast of 440 billion Yen for the year to March 2008, up from a forecast of 71.75 billion Yen a year earlier when it launched the PlayStation 3.