|
Sony logs 42 percent
plunge in first quarter operating profit on quake damage
Send a link to a friend
 [July 29, 2016]
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Sony Corp
on Friday said operating profit fell in its first quarter by 42 percent,
less than analysts had estimated, as the electronics maker trimmed the
impact of earthquake damage to one of its image sensor factories.
Profit reached 56.2 billion yen ($542.7 million) for April-June, versus
96.9 billion yen in the same period a year earlier. That result compared
with a Thomson Reuters Starmine SmartEstimate of 7 billion yen drawn
from 10 analysts.
The firm maintained its full-year profit forecast of 300 billion yen, a
2.0 percent rise over the previous year. It also estimated the April
quake's impact on overall business at 80 billion yen, less than its
initial forecast of 115 billion yen.
Sony has partially halted production of its cash-cow image sensors to
assess damage from quakes that shook the southern city of Kumamoto, home
to one of its five image sensor plants.
Its chips division, which includes image sensors, booked an operating
loss of 43.5 billion yen in the first quarter, compared with profit of
32.7 billion yen a year earlier.
The loss, however, was offset by strong demand for PlayStation 4
videogame software and cost cuts in its struggling smartphone business.
The gaming division, which Sony sees as its biggest growth driver in the
medium term, reported profit of 44 billion yen, up from 19.5 billion yen
a year prior.
The business is widely expected to receive renewed impetus from the
PlayStation VR, Sony's upcoming virtual reality headset to be launched
in October.
Sony has reshaped itself to target expansion in lucrative areas such as
videogames, entertainment and camera sensors, and not to pursue sales
growth in areas such as smartphones where price competition with Asian
rivals is acute.
[to top of second column] |
A man walks past the Sony brand logo outside the headquarters of
Sony Corp in Tokyo, Japan, May 24, 2016. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
In line with this strategy, Sony on Thursday said it has agreed to sell
most of its ailing battery business to Murata Manufacturing Co Ltd
<6981.T>.
Sony flagged a possible loss from the sale depending on the as
yet-undetermined price, but analysts viewed the deal as another move out
of unprofitable operations.
The sale "will have a big impact on reducing all-company fixed costs,"
analysts at Mizuho Securities said in a client note, pointing to the
transfer of 8,500 workers in the business.
(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
