Sony lowers profit outlook
Sony, the the world’s second-largest maker of consumer electronics, said profit will fall more than previously forecast as lower camera and computer prices caused first-quarter earnings to miss analyst estimates.
By Hiroshi Suzuki, Bloomberg |
TOKYO : Sony, the the world���s second-largest maker of consumer electronics, said profit will fall more than previously forecast as lower camera and computer prices caused first-quarter earnings to miss analyst estimates.
Sony tumbled to a five-year low in Frankfurt trading after the Tokyo-based company said net income dropped 47% to 35 bn yen ($326 mn) in the quarter ended June 30. Profit was 41% below the median estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
CEO Howard Stringer delivered the electronics division���s biggest profit drop in two years and the movie operation���s first loss in seven quarters. Sony projected a ���cautious��� outlook on demand for Bravia televisions and Cybershot cameras as economic growth in the US and Europe slows and demand starts to falter in China.
���I can���t become bullish on Sony until I see further expansion in the company���s game business to offset a slowdown in consumer electronics,��� said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees $560 mn as chief investment officer of Ichiyoshi
Investment in Tokyo. ���There will be no chance for Sony to avoid being affected by increasingly disheartened consumers in North America.���
Sony lost as much as 7.8% in Frankfurt trading. The company said net income will probably fall 35% to 240 bn yen in the year ending March 31, 2009. That���s 17% lower than the 290 bn yen forecast in May.
First-quarter revenue climbed 0.1%. Operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, declined 39% to 73.4 bn yen, based on revised figures using a new accounting method.
Sony this quarter began including earnings from Sony BMG, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, and S-LCD at the operating level.
Profit at Sony���s electronics business, the world���s second-largest after Matsushita Electrics, slid 57% to 44.4 billion yen, missing the 67.6 bn yen median estimate in a survey.
Contributions fell from Sony Ericsson, which plans to cut 2,000 jobs after lower mobile-phone prices wiped out almost all profit last quarter.
���We have to take a cautious stance on the consumer electronics market in the US overall,��� chief financial officer Nobuyuki Oneda told reporters in Tokyo.
���In Europe, we have questions about profit growth in the audio and visual product division, partly because of digital camera price competition, which is becoming more severe.���
Sony tumbled to a five-year low in Frankfurt trading after the Tokyo-based company said net income dropped 47% to 35 bn yen ($326 mn) in the quarter ended June 30. Profit was 41% below the median estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
CEO Howard Stringer delivered the electronics division���s biggest profit drop in two years and the movie operation���s first loss in seven quarters. Sony projected a ���cautious��� outlook on demand for Bravia televisions and Cybershot cameras as economic growth in the US and Europe slows and demand starts to falter in China.
���I can���t become bullish on Sony until I see further expansion in the company���s game business to offset a slowdown in consumer electronics,��� said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees $560 mn as chief investment officer of Ichiyoshi
Investment in Tokyo. ���There will be no chance for Sony to avoid being affected by increasingly disheartened consumers in North America.���
Sony lost as much as 7.8% in Frankfurt trading. The company said net income will probably fall 35% to 240 bn yen in the year ending March 31, 2009. That���s 17% lower than the 290 bn yen forecast in May.
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First-quarter revenue climbed 0.1%. Operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, declined 39% to 73.4 bn yen, based on revised figures using a new accounting method.
Sony this quarter began including earnings from Sony BMG, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, and S-LCD at the operating level.
Profit at Sony���s electronics business, the world���s second-largest after Matsushita Electrics, slid 57% to 44.4 billion yen, missing the 67.6 bn yen median estimate in a survey.
Contributions fell from Sony Ericsson, which plans to cut 2,000 jobs after lower mobile-phone prices wiped out almost all profit last quarter.
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���We have to take a cautious stance on the consumer electronics market in the US overall,��� chief financial officer Nobuyuki Oneda told reporters in Tokyo.
���In Europe, we have questions about profit growth in the audio and visual product division, partly because of digital camera price competition, which is becoming more severe.���
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