Sony hikes annual profit outlook to a record after strong 2Q profit

Sony boosted its annual operating profit outlook by 30 percent to a record level after a strong second-quarter.

The quarter was supported by popular game titles as well as growing demand for its online gaming services according to Reuters.

Sony raised its annual profit forecast to 870 billion yen or $7.7 billion from an earlier estimate of 670 billion yen.

Analysts were looking for 796.4 billion yen, according to data from Refinitiv.

The entertainment and electronics firm saw operating profit surged 17 percent to $2.1 billion for the third quarter.

Big gaming hits exclusive to Sony such as the action-adventure title "God of War"  and "Marvel's Spider-Man" have picked up the slack as sales of the PlayStation 4 console have slowed.

Its PlayStation Plus subscription-based service has also seen robust growth in subscriber numbers .

Sony also raised its profit forecast for the semiconductor division.