Sony to invest $376 million to expand iPhone camera sensor production

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Photo: Apple
Photo: Apple

Sony is planning to invest $376 million dollars to boost capacity for chips used in smartphone camera sensors, including the iPhone. The company announced today that this will be the second boost to capacity made this year to meet demand.

According to a company statement released today, Sony will spend $376 million to expand facilities at Nagasaki and Yamagata in Japan. This comes after the company already pledged in February to invest over $870 million to increase output of its CMOS image sensors.

Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai said the company hopes to revive its profits by focusing on images sensors, games, and entertainment. The iPhone has used Sony camera sensors for a number of years, and with the huge boom in sales in Asia, the company wants to maximize it’s profits off sensors.

Sony forecasts have put sales of its sensors, camera modules, and memory storage at $12.4 billion by the year ending March 2018. Operating margins are expected to increase from 10 to 12 percent, with profit reaching its highest for the company since 1998, back when Men In Black and MiniDisc players ruled Sony.

Via: Bloomberg

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