Sony Records Q2 Loss

TOKYO: Sony Corporation’s second-quarter results show a net loss of 26.3 billion yen ($292 million), versus the year-ago profit of 20.8 billion yen, on revenues that fell 19.8 percent to 1.66 trillion yen ($18.5 billion).

The company attributed the loss in the quarter to the worldwide economic downturn as well as to the appreciation of the yen. For the full fiscal year ending March 31, 2010, Sony has revised its forecast and is now expecting a 95 billion yen loss, as compared with the 120 billion yen loss forecast in July.

At Sony Pictures, revenues fell to $1.5 billion as a result of lower theatrical and home-entertainment revenues, with a loss of $71 million. The company’s consumer products and devices division saw its revenues fall by 36.5 percent to 799.9 billion yen ($8.9 billion), while operating income plummeted 86.7 percent to 8.9 billion yen ($99 million). Networked products and services, which includes its gaming business, recorded revenues of 352.6 billion yen ($3.9 billion), down 24.2 percent, with a wider operating loss of 58.8 billion yen ($654 million).