Leading electronics manufacturer Sony Corp. (SNE - Snapshot Report) disclosed its preliminary results for third quarter ended Dec 31, 2014 and also revised its guidance for the fiscal year ending Mar 31, 2015. Due to a severe cyber attack at its network, the company has been unable to release its third-quarter results at the specified time and has planned to announce it later within Mar 31, 2015.

Preliminary Results

Sony expects the net income per share to be ¥76.17 (67 cents), which is more than double  compared to ¥22.58 in the year-ago quarter. Strong sales of PlayStation 4, image sensors and smartphones units were the drivers.

Also, sales and operating revenue is anticipated to be up 6.1% year over year to ¥2,557.8 billion ($22,339 million), which is attributable to strong performance of the company’s Mobile Communications, Game & Network Services and Devices segments along with a favorable foreign exchange rates impact. However, negative impact of Sony’s PC business exit and reduction in Motion Pictures and Television Productions sales remained the headwind.

Also, operating income is projected to be up 100.6% year over year to ¥178.3 billion ($1,557 million).

With regards to the balance sheet, Sony expects its cash and cash equivalents for the period ended Dec 31, 2014 to be ¥290.6 million ($2,538 million), as compared to ¥240.3 million as of Mar 31, 2014. On the other hand, long term debt was ¥44,617 million ($390 million), in comparison to ¥44,678 million at the end of Mar 2013.

Guidance

Sony anticipates the cyber-attack to have no impact on its fiscal year ending Mar 31, 2015 results and revised its guidance for net loss, sales and operating income figures. The company now projects net loss to be ¥170 billion (narrower than ¥230 billion forecasted earlier) and operating income to be ¥20 billion, as compared to operating loss of ¥40 billion guided earlier.

Also, Sony increased its sales and operating revenue guidance for the same time frame, which is now expected to be ¥8,000 billion (up from ¥7,800 projected earlier).

In Conclusion

The preliminary results and positive guidance of Sony induces the investors to hope for better-than-expected quarterly earnings, this season. The continued demand strength for PlayStation 4, image sensors and smartphones encouraged Sony to raise its expectation bar for the fiscal year. In addition, Sony’s country-specific strategies make way for augmenting its position as a premium brand.

Currently Sony carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in the electronic equipment industry include Harman International Industries, Incorporated (HAR - Analyst Report), Skullcandy, Inc. (SKUL - Snapshot Report) and GoPro, Inc. (GPRO - Snapshot Report). While Harman International and Skullcandy sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), GoPro carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).