Sony profit tripled in the first quarter as a renewed focus on sensor chips and video games begins to pay off for an electronics maker that posted losses for six of the past seven years. Sony said first-quarter operating income at its devices business, which includes image sensors, rose 164 percent from a year earlier to 30.3 billion yen, helped by growing demand from smartphone makers.

Its gaming business' quarterly operating income rose 351 percent to 19.5 billon yen on stronger sales of PlayStation 4 software as well as insurance recoveries on previously incurred losses related to a cyber attack on Sony's network services.

Its mobile division reported a 22.9 billion yen quarterly loss, and now expects a full-year operating loss of 60 billion yen, worse than the 39 billion yen loss it expected in April.

President Kazuo Hirai has said this fiscal year marks the beginning of an expansion phase after the maker of the PlayStation 4 cut thousands of jobs and shifted focus away from phones and consumer electronics. Sony plans to raise $3.4 billion selling stock and convertible bonds to help pay for a fourfold increase in semiconductor spending as it also invests in video game network services and virtual reality gear.