TOKYO (REUTERS) - Japan's Sony Group said on Tuesday (May 10) that its fourth-quarter operating profit more than doubled to 138.6 billion yen (S$1.5 billion), helped by strong performance at its gaming and network services business.

Sony has also benefited from strong demand for its PlayStation 5 games console, which it is using to encourage online game downloads and sign-ups for subscription services.

Last business year, it sold 11.5 million units, and has shipped almost 20 million since its launch in 2020, despite a semiconductor shortage that curbed production.

The company is also expanding its software business, announcing in February the acquisition of Bungie, the creator of the Halo video game, for US$3.6 billion (S$5 billion).

Sony's profit for the three months to March 31, which compares with profit of 66.5 billion yen a year earlier, was, however, lower than an average 147 billion yen profit estimate from 10 analyst surveyed by Refinitiv.

For the full business year, earnings were also boosted by movie unit profit from the success of the Spider-Man: No Way Home film.

For the current business year, the Japanese company forecast operating profit to fall to 1.16 trillion yen from 1.2 trillion yen. That prediction is lower than a mean 1.21 trillion yen profit based on forecasts from 23 analysts, Refinitiv data showed.