TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Sony Group Corp. said Friday its net profit for the six months to September grew 36.5 percent from a year earlier to 570.13 billion yen ($3.7 billion), helped by robust sales of games and semiconductors.

Operating profit jumped 42.3 percent to 734.18 billion yen on sales of 5.92 trillion yen, up 2.2 percent, the company said.

Sony Group lifted its sales outlook for the business year through March to 12.71 trillion yen, up from its previous estimate of 12.61 trillion yen, while leaving its operating and net profit forecast unchanged.

Sales in its game and network service business grew about 12 percent to 1.94 trillion yen in the fiscal first half on brisk sales of game software, the company said.

Its semiconductor business saw a roughly 27 percent rise in sales to 889 billion yen as sales of its image sensors used for mobile devices increased, according to Sony Group.

The company also cited a boost from a weaker yen as a factor that contributed to the upbeat earnings.