Sony reported a higher than expected first-quarter operating profit on Thursday, boosted by strong sales of its Xperia smartphones in Japan, the rising shipments of image sensors to phone makers and a weak yen. Sony logged an operating profit of 36.4 billion yen ($369.68 million) in the April-June quarter. The company posted an operating profit of 6.3 billion yen in the same period last year.

Sony kept its full-year operating profit outlook unchanged from its May forecast of 230 billion yen. It raised its full-year revenue forecast to 7.9 trillion yen from 7.5 trillion yen.

The company's TV business eked out 5.2 billion yen in operating profit in the first three months, the first time it has been in the black in 12 quarters.

Activist shareholder Daniel Loeb and New York-based Third Point have been proposing Sony spin off as much as one-fifth of the group's money-making entertainment arm - movies, TV and music.

Sony's board is expected to reject Loeb's proposals, the Nikkei newspaper said on Thursday.