Sony in the black

BACK IN BLACK: Sony Corp. registered its first profitable quarter in four years, as analysts credited a weaker yen that boosted overseas earnings, with assists from Spider-Man, Agent 007, One Direction and Justin Timberlake. The company reported a 93.9 billion yen ($948 million) profit for its fiscal Q4, and earnings of 43 billion yen ($434 million) for the year ending March 31, compared to a record-setting loss of 457 billion yen ($5.7 billion) in fiscal 2012. Sony Pictures reported a 40% increase in its operating profit, earning $509 million thanks in part to big worldwide grosses for The Amazing Spider-Man and Skyfall. Sony Music was also up, if slightly, gaining 0.9% to $396 million under Doug Morris’ leadership. These positive numbers helped offset a 94% drop in its operating profits to just $18 million for its gaming unit. And Sony’s consumer electronics core business continued to suck, as it has for nearly a decade. "We must answer to the challenge of making our electronics business profitable, no matter what," said CFO Masaru Kato. “But we love us some JT.” (5/9a)