Sony Q4, FY'10 loss narrows; expects return to profit in FY'11

TOKYO/NEW DELHI: Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp today said its net loss has narrowed to 56.6 billion yen (USD 608 million) for January-March, 2010 and expects to return to profit this fiscal after posting losses in two consecutive years.

In the year-ago period, the company had incurred a loss of 165.1 billion yen, Sony said in a statement.

The company's sales rose 12.5 per cent from the year-ago period to 1.71 trillion yen (USD 18.44 billion) for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2010.

After reporting two years of loss Sony said it expects to make a profit of 50 billion yen for the fiscal ending March 2011. The company is projecting sales of 7.6 trillion yen during the said period.

Sony is understood to be slashing costs by shutting factories, shedding its workforce and outsourcing production to contract manufacturers.

For the year ended March 31, 2010, Sony has reported a loss of 40.8 billion yen less than half the loss it made the previous year. The company lost 98.9 billion yen a year earlier.

The electronic giant's revenue also fell by nearly 7 per cent to 7.21 trillion for the year ended March 31, 2010, primarily due to decrease in sales in the consumer products.

The company's consumer product sales declined by 20 per cent. In addition, Sony's mobile phone unit Sony Ericsson, also witnessed a loss with sales plunging by 37 per cent.

Sony said losses were partly offset by increased sales at its music and financial services operations.