The company also acquires the remaining stake in EMI Music Publishing from the Michael Jackson Estate for $287.5 million.


Sony Pictures recorded a loss of $68 million for the fiscal first quarter, which ran April to June, compared to an $87 million loss in the same period last year, conglomerate Sony reported in Tokyo on Tuesday.


Film unit revenue was down 15 percent, or 14 percent on a dollar basis, affected by lower theatrical revenue in the absence of any major movie releases during the quarter, as well as lower advertising revenue and television production sales. Operating income improved thanks to lower theatrical advertising costs and strong home entertainment sales for Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.


Based on the first fiscal-quarter results, Sony upped its forecast for full-year revenue for the film division to ￥990 billion ($8.89 billion at current exchange rates) and operating profit of ￥44 billion ($395 million).


Overall revenue at Sony Corp. was up 5 percent at $17.91 billion, compared with the same period last year, with earnings jumping 180 percent to $2.07 billion, thanks to strong performances in the music, gaming, home electronics and image sensor divisions. Results worsened in mobile phones, semiconductors and financial services.


Sony's music division logged increased revenue and income, with albums by Japanese artists performing particularly well. Sales were also boosted by increased streaming revenue and the Fate/Grand Order mobile game, which falls under Sony Music Japan, to $1.63 billion, while unit earnings rose to $289 million. An anime TV series and two-part anime film based on Fate/Grand Order were announced earlier this week.


Sony also unveiled Tuesday that it has acquired the remaining stake it didn't own in EMI Music Publishing from the Michael Jackson estate for $287.5 million, to make it a wholly owned subsidiary. Music publishing has been cited by new CEO Kenichiro Yoshida as an area of focus in line with his strategy of stable, recurring revenue generators. Although the company said the purchase will not impact its full fiscal-year results, it raised its forecast slightly for the division.


The PlayStation 4 (PS4) continued to deliver for Sony, with revenue up 36 percent to $4.24 billion, due to an increase in software sales through its online network and a favorable currency exchange rate, with console sales falling only slightly despite the age of the PS4. Operating income at the division jumped to $750 million, also boosted by foreign exchange rates. Sony boosted its full-year sales and operating income forecasts for the division as a result of the strong first fiscal quarter.


Sony Corp. also raised its overall full-year profit forecast by 4 percent to ￥500 billion (currently $4.5 billion) for the year ending March 2019.


Sony stock closed up slightly Tuesday in Tokyo at ￥5,875 ($52.85) before the earnings report, in line with the gain in the Nikkei 225 stock index.