Japanese electronics giant Sony said it had swung back to a second quarter profit and raised its full year forecast 17 per cent, citing strong earnings for its Playstation and computer units.

The maker of Bravia televisions and Cyber-shot cameras reported a profit of 31.1 billion yen ($375 million) in the fiscal second quarter, compared with a 26.3 billion yen loss a year ago, despite worries about the strong yen. Under chief executive and president Howard Stringer the Japanese company has been streamlining operations and cutting costs to trim back the sprawling group, which was battered by the global downturn.

The electronics giant has been forced to undergo major restructuring – slashing thousands of jobs, selling facilities and turning to suppliers for parts – after seeing losses pile up as the financial crisis hit demand.

The moves helped the firm to revise its full-year net profit forecast to 70 billion yen from 60 billion yen.

For the quarter, group operating profit stood at 68.7 billion yen from a loss of 32.6 billion a year ago thanks to a strong performance in its game and PC business, the company said.

And in the six months ended September, Sony reported a 56.8 billion yen profit compared with a 63.4 loss in the same period a year earlier.

Panasonic also said its group net profit surged five-fold to 31.0 billion yen in the September quarter from 6.1 billion yen in the same period a year earlier.