Tokyo - Sony Corp on Tuesday reported a net profit fall of 47.4 per cent in the April-June period to 34.98 billion yen (324.78 million dollars) compared with the same period last year.

Sony's net profit decline was attributed mainly to the yen's advance against the US dollar and the lack of blockbuster hit movies in its filmmaking division.

The company's operating profit for the April-June quarter fell 39.5 per cent to 73.44 billion yen, while sales were up 0.1 per cent to 1.98 trillion yen.

For the full year, the company revised upward its operating profit estimates from 450 billion yen to 470 billion yen. Sales expectations were 9.2 trillion yen.

As a way to boost competitiveness in the music business, Sony reportedly opened negotiations to gain full ownership of its US venture Sony BMG Music Entertainment by purchasing the stake held by Bertelsmann AG, a major German media firm, the Japanese business daily The Nikkei said.

The negotiations were expected to settle as early as August with the estimated cost of about 100 billion yen.

By acquiring full ownership, Sony hopes to gain competitiveness against US-based Universal Music Group, the largest music company in the world. (dpa)