Sony Corp fell to the lowest level in Tokyo trading since 1980, when the Walkman was new and before it introduced the first compact-disc player, after forecasting profit that lagged behind analyst estimates.
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| Sony Corp |
Sony said it may lose about 80 billion yen selling TVs, a ninth straight year of losses in that business.
The maker of Bravia televisions said yesterday net income may total 30 billion yen ($376 million) in the year started April 1, its first profit in five years. That compared with the 61.4 billion-yen average of 18 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sony said it may lose about 80 billion yen selling televisions, a ninth straight year of losses in that business.
“Though Sony’s forecasting growth in revenue and return to profit, it’s still hard to find something that can trigger the stock to rise,” Shiro Mikoshiba, an analyst at Nomura Holdings Inc. in Tokyo with a neutral rating on the shares, said in a report today. “There are uncertainties in demand for TVs, smartphones and digital cameras.”
Sony, which introduced the Walkman portable cassette player in 1979 and the first CD player in 1982, said sales may be 7.4 trillion yen in the current fiscal year.
The Tokyo-based electronics maker, which lost 856 billion yen combined in the past four years, predicted an operating profit of 180 billion yen.
Kazuo Hirai, 51, who took over as chief executive officer last month, is eliminating about 10,000 jobs, or 6 percent of the workforce, at Japan’s largest electronics exporter after losing customers to Samsung Electronics Co. (005930) and Apple Inc. (AAPL) Hirai is turning to mobile devices, games and digital imaging to revive Sony.
Sony predicts selling 17.5 million TVs this year, down from 19.6 million last year, the company said yesterday. Sales of its PlayStation game consoles may drop to 16 million units from 18 million.The world’s No. 3 TV maker has lost about 700 billion yen in the business during the past eight years while losing market share to Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung and Seoul-based LG Electronics Co., both of which make money selling sets. Sony plans to make the business profitable by March 2014.TV ShipmentsGlobal TV shipments last year fell for the first time in six years because of excessive inventory in the U.S. and Europe and the end of Japanese government subsidies for purchases, according to DisplaySearch, part of NPD Group. Shipments fell 0.3 percent to 247.7 million units, the researcher said.“We expect Sony to miss its guidance because projections for the TV unit and the game unit look excessive,” Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Securities Co. in Tokyo, said in his report today. “The hurdle for Sony to attain its targets for selling game players will be significantly high” given sluggish demand in Japan, the U.S. and Europe.Takashi Watanabe, a Tokyo-based analyst at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., lowered his operating profit forecast for Sony to 140 billion yen from 152.4 billion yen, saying in a report today that Sony’s targets for profit growth in digital cameras, games, batteries and smartphones are “optimistic.”Sony is projecting sales volume of smartphones and portable game players to surge this fiscal year. Smartphone sales will probably rise to 33.3 million units from 22.5 million, the company said yesterday. Handheld players including PlayStation Vita may more than double to 16 million units from 6.8 million, Sony said.Sony is increasing its offerings in the game business. The company began selling the PlayStation Vita in December to lure consumers increasingly turning to iPhones and iPads for entertainment. The Vita was the first major overhaul of the handheld since the PlayStation Portable went on sale in 2004.
Sony predicts selling 17.5 million TVs this year, down from 19.6 million last year, the company said yesterday. Sales of its PlayStation game consoles may drop to 16 million units from 18 million.The world’s No. 3 TV maker has lost about 700 billion yen in the business during the past eight years while losing market share to Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung and Seoul-based LG Electronics Co., both of which make money selling sets. Sony plans to make the business profitable by March 2014.TV ShipmentsGlobal TV shipments last year fell for the first time in six years because of excessive inventory in the U.S. and Europe and the end of Japanese government subsidies for purchases, according to DisplaySearch, part of NPD Group. Shipments fell 0.3 percent to 247.7 million units, the researcher said.“We expect Sony to miss its guidance because projections for the TV unit and the game unit look excessive,” Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at Ace Securities Co. in Tokyo, said in his report today. “The hurdle for Sony to attain its targets for selling game players will be significantly high” given sluggish demand in Japan, the U.S. and Europe.Takashi Watanabe, a Tokyo-based analyst at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., lowered his operating profit forecast for Sony to 140 billion yen from 152.4 billion yen, saying in a report today that Sony’s targets for profit growth in digital cameras, games, batteries and smartphones are “optimistic.”Sony is projecting sales volume of smartphones and portable game players to surge this fiscal year. Smartphone sales will probably rise to 33.3 million units from 22.5 million, the company said yesterday. Handheld players including PlayStation Vita may more than double to 16 million units from 6.8 million, Sony said.Sony is increasing its offerings in the game business. The company began selling the PlayStation Vita in December to lure consumers increasingly turning to iPhones and iPads for entertainment. The Vita was the first major overhaul of the handheld since the PlayStation Portable went on sale in 2004.
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