Thursday January 29, 07:27 AM
Sony logs quarterly operating loss as demand cools
TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's Sony Corp (Munich: SON1.MU - news) . reported Thursday a 200-million-dollar operating loss for the fiscal third quarter because of weak sales of electronic goods and a stronger yen.
The iconic Japanese company maintained its forecast for its biggest ever operating loss in the full financial year to March.
The company said it would delay the start of a liquid crystal display joint venture with fellow electronics giant Sharp Corp. by one year due to the economic crisis.
Sony posted an operating loss of 18.0 billion yen for the fiscal third quarter to December, a dramatic turnaround from year-earlier profit of 236.2 billion yen.
Net profit plunged 95 percent to 10.4 billion yen as revenue slumped 24.6 percent to 2.15 trillion yen, a company statement said.
As well as weak consumer demand and a rising yen, which is bad for export earnings, the group's financial arm was hit by the global stock market rout.
Sony chief executive Howard Stringer is slashing 16,000 jobs and axing plants as the company braces for a record operating loss of 260 billion yen in the full financial year to March.
The group logged an operating loss of 15.9 billion yen in its core electronics business in the third quarter as revenue fell 29.3 percent.
The games unit suffered a 97 percent plunge in operating profit but avoided falling into the red thanks to efforts to reduce the manufacturing cost of the PlayStation 3, which faces strong competition from Nintendo's Wii.
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