Sony shares soar after forecast of record profit

Tokyo, Nov 1 : The shares of Japanese multinational tech company Sony rose over 11 per cent on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

It had earlier forecast record earnings in 2017 due to boost in semiconductors and favourable exchange rates, Efe news reported.

The shares of Sony rose to a nine-year high as it registered a rise of 9.76 percent and stood at $42.5. (at 10 a.m.) although it had climbed to 11.5 per cent during the first minutes of trading.

On Tuesday, while presenting its results for the first quarter (April-September), Sony announced that it expected a record net profit of $3.3 billion, a level not seen in 20 years.

The figure is well above the historic high of $1.9 billion recorded in 1997, when Sony experienced the golden age of the first PlayStation, launched in 1994, which coincided with the box office success of the movie "Men in Black".

Sony also revised up its operating profit and revenue forecast and expects to reach the same levels recorded a decade ago in the fiscal year of 2017, which will end in March 2018.

Investors in the Japanese market on Wednesday responded with optimism to the company's new estimates.