Sony shipped 17.7 million PlayStation 4 consoles over the fiscal year ended March 31, bringing the total number of consoles shipped to an impressive 40 million. The strength of the PS4 helped Sony to reach its first full-year profit in three years, bringing in ¥‎147.8 billion (£936 million, $1.36 billion). Last year the company reported a loss of ¥126 billion (£798 million, $1.16 billion).

Strong demand for the PS4 and games led to an 11.8 percent jump in sales for Sony's Game and Network Services division. Interestingly, Sony's PlayStation Network alone brought in ¥529 billion (£3.3 billion, $4.9 billion) in raw sales, which is more than the whole of Nintendo brought in (¥504 million, £3.1 billion, $4.6 billion) for its last fiscal year.

While Sony's new-found profitability marks a dramatic turnaround for a company that has struggled to deliver consistent profits over the past decade, not all of it is performing well. Breaking it down by quarter, Sony actually made a ¥88.3 billion (£559 million, $816 million) loss in its fourth quarter, booking a charge against its chip business, as well as assessing damage from an earthquake that shut down its main plant for camera sensors.

Speaking of Sony's camera sensors—which are used in many smartphones, including the iPhone and HTC 10—they have suffered from a drop in demand, with the company's "devices unit" recording a huge operating loss of ¥28.6 billion (£181 million, $253 million) after posting an ¥89 billion (£563 million, $822 million) in profit last year. Sony notes that "due to a decrease in projected future demand," future sales may suffer.

However, as with nearly every Sony financial report in recent years, it's the Xperia smartphone business that continues to drag it down. Sales plunged 20 percent, with the company recording a ¥61.4 billion (£389 million, $544 million) operating loss.

Sony blames the drop in sales on "a strategic decision not to pursue scale in order to improve profitability." It remains to be seen whether the products of that decision—the new Xperia X range—can boost profits.

Sony also expects its other consumer electronics products—including TVs, portable music players, and digital cameras—to maintain stable profitability, rather than bring in larger revenues.

Meanwhile, Sony's entertainment division continues to perform well, posting a 6.8 percent jump in annual sales thanks to on-demand and subscription revenue from the likes of television series such as Breaking Bad, The Blacklist, and Better Call Saul.