Sony Posts 10% Profit Rise on Image Sensor Boost

(FILES) In this picture taken on May 9, 2022, the Sony logo is displayed at an entrance of the company's headquarters in Tokyo. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)
(FILES) In this picture taken on May 9, 2022, the Sony logo is displayed at an entrance of the company's headquarters in Tokyo. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)
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Sony Posts 10% Profit Rise on Image Sensor Boost

(FILES) In this picture taken on May 9, 2022, the Sony logo is displayed at an entrance of the company's headquarters in Tokyo. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)
(FILES) In this picture taken on May 9, 2022, the Sony logo is displayed at an entrance of the company's headquarters in Tokyo. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)

Sony on Wednesday reported a 10% rise in operating profit in the April-June quarter, beating analyst estimates, boosted by its industry-leading image sensor business.
Profit at the Japanese tech and entertainment conglomerate was 279 billion yen ($1.90 billion), compared with an average estimate of 275 billion yen from seven analysts polled by LSEG.
The impact from foreign exchange and higher sales helped profit at the image sensor business, a major supplier for smartphone makers, roughly triple to 36.6 billion yen.
A sprawling group encompassing music, movies, games and chips, Sony hiked its full-year profit forecast by 3% aided by foreign exchange rates.
Financial markets have been whipsawed in recent days following an interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan and weak labor data from the US that stoked recession fears.
"We are extremely concerned about the sudden fluctuations in exchange rates and possibility of economic downturn, particularly in the United States," Sony President Hiroki Totoki told an earnings briefing, according to Reuters.
The rise in the yen has left investors reassessing the outlook for Japanese multinationals, as the weak currency had provided a cushion for many heavyweight exporters.
Sony's assumed exchange rate for the year is approximately 145 yen to the dollar. On Wednesday, it was trading around 147, but it had been at 38-year lows near 162 at the start of July.
In the first quarter Sony sold 2.4 million PlayStation 5 (PS5) units, fewer than a year earlier, but booked a larger profit from its games business.
The group said in May it expects to sell 18 million PS5 units this fiscal year, compared to 20.8 million a year earlier.
The games industry is grappling with rising costs and weak pricing power. Sony-owned developer Bungie announced last week it is cutting almost a fifth of its workforce.
Sony's shares closed flat ahead of earnings and are down 8% year-to-date, giving the company a market capitalization of just over $100 billion.



Saudi SDAIA Signs MoU with IBM to Establish AI Center of Excellence 

The MoU aims to establish a specialized center of excellence for developing generative AI technologies, focusing on implementing innovative applications that meet the needs of government entities according to the best global standards and governance frameworks. (SPA)
The MoU aims to establish a specialized center of excellence for developing generative AI technologies, focusing on implementing innovative applications that meet the needs of government entities according to the best global standards and governance frameworks. (SPA)
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Saudi SDAIA Signs MoU with IBM to Establish AI Center of Excellence 

The MoU aims to establish a specialized center of excellence for developing generative AI technologies, focusing on implementing innovative applications that meet the needs of government entities according to the best global standards and governance frameworks. (SPA)
The MoU aims to establish a specialized center of excellence for developing generative AI technologies, focusing on implementing innovative applications that meet the needs of government entities according to the best global standards and governance frameworks. (SPA)

The Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA) signed on Tuesday a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the global company IBM during the third Global AI Summit (GAIN) underway in Riyadh.

CEO of the National Center for AI Dr. Yaser bin Mohammed Al-Onaizan, representing SDAIA, and the General Manager of IBM Saudi Arabia, Fahad Alanazi, finalized the agreement.

The MoU aims to establish a specialized center of excellence for developing generative AI technologies, focusing on implementing innovative applications that meet the needs of government entities according to the best global standards and governance frameworks.

It also includes the launch of the ALLaM Challenge, which seeks to develop innovative solutions and stimulate innovation by developing and enhancing large language models (LLM) in Arabic using the ALLaM model.

This partnership is expected to contribute to the exchange of expertise and enhancement of national capabilities, supporting Saudi Vision 2030 goals of building a knowledge-based society and reinforcing the Kingdom's position as a global hub for advanced technologies.

This collaboration is part of SDAIA's efforts to position the ALLaM model as the leading generative Arabic model on global platforms, according to the Arabic MMLU benchmark. This initiative aims to empower developers and users of Arabic-language AI solutions in the Kingdom and worldwide.

SDAIA and IBM have previously announced that ALLaM will be hosted on the IBM Watsonx platform and the Saudi government cloud "DEEM". This initiative will provide entities with advanced and unique services, contributing to the advancement of technological innovation in the region.

SDAIA and IBM's collaboration also includes establishing a specialized center of excellence for developing generative AI technologies and launching the ALLaM Challenge, which aims to discover exceptional talents and expertise in AI.