Sony expects profit to quadruple and restores dividend

Sony reported its sixth loss in seven years for the 12 months ending 1 April 2015

Japanese consumer electronics giant Sony expects operating profit to more than quadruple because of higher gadget sales and cost-cutting measures.

The firm forecasts operating income of 320bn yen ($2.7bn; £1.7bn) for the year ending in March 2016, which was below analyst estimates for 401.6bn yen.

It also plans to restore a shareholder dividend after scrapping it last year and will pay out 10 yen per share.

Shares of Sony fell by 1.3% in Tokyo ahead of the earnings release.

It has been a tough year for Sony, which saw its movie division and gaming network targeted by hackers earlier this year.

The firm said the cyber attacks cost it $41m in "investigation and remediation expenses".

Sony has cut its profit outlook 15 times in seven years, prompting chief executive Kazuo Hirai to undertake a broad restructuring.

Mr Hirai sold off its personal computer business and spun off its loss-making television division into a separate structure.

The company's smartphone division is also still struggling to compete against Samsung, Apple and cheaper Chinese producers such as Xiaomi and Huawei.

Restructuring charges are expected to be approximately 35bn yen for the new fiscal year, the company said in a statement.