TOKYO—Sony Corp. reported Thursday a net profit of 147.8 billion yen ($1.36 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, marking a turnaround for the Japanese electronics conglomerate, which has struggled to maintain profitability for much of the past decade.

The earnings results compare with the company's guidance for a profit of ¥ 145 billion profit for the year, and a FactSet mean estimate by 24 analysts for ¥ 147 billion. Sony reported a ¥ 126 billion loss for the previous fiscal year ending March 2015.

With its restructuring efforts nearly complete, chief executive Kazuo Hirai has said the latest reporting period represents a new start for Sony. It now seeks further growth from sales of its PlayStation videogame unit, from its specialized device unit that makes image sensors that are a key component in Apple Inc.'s iPhone, and from music and movies.

The company now expects its consumer electronics products, including TVs and portable music players, to simply maintain stable profitability, rather than aim for significantly larger revenues.

In its competition with South Korean rivals for a greater share of the consumer electronics market, Sony had sacrificed profitability in favor of sales, resulting in years of losses. The company recorded net losses in each fiscal year since 2008, except for the year ending March 2013, when it sold off a big chunk of assets, including real estate.

During the 12-month period ended in March this year, Sony reported an operating profit of ¥ 294.2 billion on ¥ 8.1 trillion in revenue. Analysts had expected a profit of ¥ 336.4 billion on revenue of ¥ 8.1 trillion. Sony recorded a ¥ 68.5 billion operating profit on revenue of ¥ 8.2 trillion in the year ending March 2015.

Write to Takashi Mochizuki at takashi.mochizuki@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 28, 2016 02:35 ET (06:35 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Feb 2024 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more Apple Charts.
Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2023 to Mar 2024 Click Here for more Apple Charts.