Sony surprises with quarterly profit after selling buildings, stake in video-game maker

Sony reported a surprise eightfold jump in quarterly profit as sales got a perk from a cheap yen and its bottom line was helped by gains from buildings and its stake in a video-game maker.

Sony Corp. said Thursday that profit for the April-June fiscal first quarter rose to 26.8 billion yen ($261 million) from 3.1 billion yen a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast a loss.

Quarterly sales climbed nearly 6 percent to 1.81 trillion yen ($17.6 billion).

The Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate did well in its video games, movie and camera businesses, offsetting restructuring costs. Sony has sold its Vaio computer business.

The Tokyo-based company also raked in cash from the sales of Tokyo property and its shares in Square Enix, a video-game maker.