Sony Corp <6758.T> will likely return to profitability in the April-June quarter, beating market expectations for an operating loss, on solid sales and cost cuts, the Nikkei business daily reported on Monday.

Sony is expected to post a quarterly operating profit of 10 billion to 30 billion yen ($114 million-$343 million), bouncing back from an operating loss of 25.7 billion yen in the same quarter last year, the Nikkei said.

That would beat the consensus of a loss of 18.8 billion yen from the average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

A spokesman for Sony declined to comment on the report. Shares in the company were up 0.4 percent at 2,522 yen, lagging the benchmark Nikkei index <.N225>, which was up 1.3 percent.

Japan's huge consumer electronics company has enjoyed strong sales of major products in China and other markets, including new digital camera models that use interchangeable lenses, video cameras and personal computers, the Nikkei said.

Liquid crystal display televisions also sold well in both Japan and overseas markets with smaller-than-expected price falls, while the game and mobile phone operations returned to profitability on the back of cost cuts, the newspaper said.

Sony slashed more than 330 billion yen in costs in the previous business year through labor cuts and factory consolidation, helping the company absorb the impact of yen strength versus the euro, the Nikkei said.

Sony is scheduled to announce its April-to-June earnings after the market close on July 29.

(Reporting by Nathan Layne; Editing by Jan Paschal and Charlotte Cooper)

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