EARNINGS : Sony Unit’s Profit Soars 45%

Japan’s Sony Corp. today posted dazzling results for the first half of its fiscal year, but industry analysts forecast tougher times ahead.

Buoyed by strong sales of 8-millimeter video camcorders, audio equipment and color TVs, the parent company’s net profits jumped 45% in the six months ended Sept. 30 to $307.7 million, officials said.

Profit growth for the Sony group as a whole, however, was much smaller due to the falling value of the dollar, a slowdown in the U.S. economy and continuing costs of absorbing Columbia Pictures Entertainment and CBS Records Inc. Net group profits rose 6% to $405.9 million.