Sony underwater in more ways than one with 27bn yen loss
It’s by no means been an easy year for Sony: first, it was hit by supply problems from the Japanese earthquake, then hackers caused its PlayStation Network all sorts of gyp – and now half of its Thai manufacturing facility is underwater. What next – a plague of frogs? And that’s not even mentioning the strength of the yen at the moment. So it’s no surprise, really, that the electronics manufacturer reported today that it’s on track to make a 90bn yen (£719m) loss this year – which contrasts pretty strongly with July’s prediction of a 60bn yen profit…
Today’s second-quarter figures show the extent of the damage to its finances. In the three months to September, it made a loss of 27bn yen, with an operating loss of 1.6bn yen – compared with a 68.7bn profit during the same period last year. On top of that, it said it expects the Thai floods to wreak havoc totalling 25bn yen – which includes not only the cost of restoring its water-logged factory to working order, but also finding new sources of parts for its TVs and PCs. Thus, it slashed its operating profit forecast by a singularly depressingly 90% - from 200bn in July to a mere 20bn yen. Ouch.
