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After years of losses, Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai has
engineered a successful restructuring drive at Sony, with recent
results showing improvement thanks to cost cuts, an exit from
weak businesses such as PCs, as well as strong sales of image
sensors and videogames. But its smartphone business has been
slow to turn around.
"We will continue with the business as long as we are on track
with the scenario of breaking even next year onwards," Hirai
told a group of reporters on Wednesday. "Otherwise, we haven't
eliminated the consideration of alternative options."
Sony and other Japanese electronics makers have struggled to
compete with cheaper Asian rivals as well as the likes of Apple
Inc and Samsung Electronics.
Sony phones including its Xperia-branded smartphones held only
17.5 percent of the market in Japan and less than 1 percent in
the North America, according to company data last year.
The electronics giant in July lowered its forecast for its
mobile communications unit to an operating loss of 60 billion
yen in the current fiscal year from an earlier estimate of a 39
billion yen loss.
"I do have a feeling that a turnaround in our electronics
business has shown progress. The result of three years of
restructuring are starting to show," he said. "But we still need
to carry out restructuring in smartphones."
(Reporting by Reiji Murai; Writing by Ritsuko Ando; Editing by
Edwina Gibbs)
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