Sony Slides to Loss on Quake, Cuts Guidance
Sony Corp. said Thursday it slipped to a net loss in its fiscal first quarter, squeezed by the impact of the March 11 disasters, and lowered its earnings forecast for the fiscal year, citing weak sales of televisions as well as the yen’s strength versus the euro.
Sony, a consumer electronics bellwether for Japan and maker of iconic products like the Walkman music player, recorded a net loss of ¥15.5 billion ($198.7 million) in the quarter ended June. That compared with a net profit of ¥25.7 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Operating profit for the quarter was sliced by more than half to ¥27.5 billion from ¥67.02 billion a year earlier. Revenue declined about 10% to ¥1.49 trillion from ¥1.66 trillion.
