Sony Corp reports $196-mn quarterly loss as movies flop
31 Oct 2013
Electronics and entertainment giant Sony Corp has reported a ¥19.3 billion ($196 million) net loss for the July-September 2013 quarter, pulled down by a weak movies division, with the White House Down flop show adding to its earnings woes.
The action movie's lacklustre box office performance, especially compared with last year's releases of 21 Jump Street and The Amazing Spider Man, contributed to a ¥17.8 billion operating loss for Sony's pictures division, the company said in a release.
Sony said its operating income for the quarter decreased by ¥15.5 billion year-on-year to ¥14.8 billion, due primarily to a significant decline in operating results in the motion pictures segment.
The decline in earnings from the motion picture segment was offset in part by a significant improvement in the mobile products and communications segment, reflecting strong smart phone sales and the favourable impact of foreign exchange rates.
Sony said its operating income during the quarter included a gain of ¥12.8 billion from the sale of certain shares of M3 Inc in All Other. The current quarter's results include a net benefit of ¥4.8 billion from insurance recoveries related to damages and losses incurred from the floods in Thailand in the fiscal year ended 31 March 2012, against a net benefit of ¥13.2 billion in the year-before quarter.
Sales for the July-September quarter rose 10.6 per cent year-on-year to ¥1.78 trillion, due mainly to the favourable impact of the yen's decline against the US dollar. Revenue adjusted for the 20 per cent drop in the value of the yen, was down 9 per cent.
The company's television, music and smart phone businesses improved while sales of its digital cameras and video cameras fell.
Sony slashed its profit forecast for the financial year ending 31 March 2014 to 30 billion yen from ¥50 billion, due to weak sales and strong price competition.
Rival Panasonic, meanwhile, said its quarterly profit improved to ¥63.3 billion yen from a ¥698.6-billion loss the year before.
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