Sony profit doubles, driven by gaming and movies

Sony profits all but doubled in the fourth quarter, hitting almost 611 million dollars.

The firm was helped by surging demand for games, movies and other content from consumers stuck at home.

Its new PlayStation 5 was among the positives.

The console launched in core markets last November.

Now Sony is using it to encourage online game downloads and sign-ups for subscription services.

The Japanese giant is focusing ever more on content rather than hardware.

As part of that it plans to close a factory in Malaysia that makes home audio equipment, headphones and other products.

Meanwhile it's beefing up content and distribution businesses.

In December it said it had agreed to buy AT&T's animation channel Crunchyroll.

That gave Sony 3 million new subscribers across 200 countries.

This month it struck a deal with Disney to offer its 'Spider-Man' movies on the U.S. firm's streaming service.

It has also reached agreement with Netflix on streaming films there.

Sony has, however, warned that full-year profits will probably dip as the lockdown-driven boom ends.

Shares in the company closed over 3 percent higher in Wednesday (April 28) trade.