Sony reported a second straight quarterly loss as the stronger yen pushed the company further behind Samsung in television sales and the global recession drove down demand for video games. The net loss was 37.1 billion yen ($390 million) in the quarter ended June 30, compared with profit of 35 billion yen a year earlier. The deficit was smaller than the 80 billion yen shortfall median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of six analysts, partly due to higher profit from financial services. The result beat estimates after CEO Sir Howard Stringer cut jobs and shut factories to revive a company that’s lost its lead to Samsung and Vizio in TVs, Nintendo and Microsoft in game players, and Apple in portable media players. Pressure is building for Stringer to prove he can increase Sony’s sales, not just reduce expenses, by slashing jobs and suppliers, according to investors such as Yasuhiko Hirakawa.
Regardless of its losses, the figures above are still better than what was predicted, sending prices of Sony shares up worldwide – Sony’s stock (SNE) on NYSE is at the highest price its seen since October 2008.
Sony has kept unchanged its May forecast for a net loss of 120 billion yen in the year ending March 2010. The company also maintained its projection for its annual operating loss, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, at 110 billion yen. While not changing its forecast, Sony aims to break even at operating level this year, Oneda said.
The Networked Products unit which includes Sony’s PlayStation game machines, Vaio computers and Walkman media players, posted a 39.7 billion yen loss, compared with profit of 4.6 billion yen a year earlier, because of lower software sales and the stronger yen, Sony said in a statement. Sony sold 1.1 million PlayStation 3 consoles and 1.3 million PlayStation Portable machines in the quarter, down 31 percent and 65 percent respectively from a year earlier.
The Consumer Products division sales were down more than 25%, with BRAVIA televisions, Cyber-shot cameras, and Handycams all seeing decreased sales.
B2B & Disc Manufacturing sales were down 28%, with lower sales discs and broadcast/professional use equipment.
Sony Pictures fared better than most divisions in the company, with increased sales and improved operating income. Angels & Demons, Terminator: Salvation, and strong television revenue were all cited as contributing factors in the continued success. Things should continue to look up with movies such as 2012, District 9, and Planet 51 still on the way.
Music sales are way up – almost 96% – mostly because of the consolidation of Sony Music Entertainment. Some of Sony’s best selling albums include Bob Dylan’s Together Through Life, Dave Matthew’s Band Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King, and King of Leon’s Only By The Night. Japanese music artists JUJU, Yusuke, and Ken Hirai all were major sellers for Sony as well.
A stock market rally helped Sony’s earnings from the financial services unit, Chief Financial Officer Nobuyuki Oneda said at a briefing in Tokyo. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average added 23 percent in the April-June quarter. Income at the financial division, which sells life insurance, rose 58 percent to 48.2 billion yen. That compares with the 25 billion yen median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of five analysts.
Here are total sales by area:
