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For the whole of fiscal 2009 through next March, the Japanese electronics giant now anticipates a group net loss of 95 billion yen, against an earlier 120 billion yen, and nearly halved its operating loss forecast from 110 billion yen to 60 billion yen.
The company boosted its outlook as it eked out an operating profit at its key consumer product segment thanks to high-profit devices like video cameras, but Sony's Chief Financial Officer Nobuyuki Oneda said he still feels cautious about the year-end shopping season.
Sony remained in the red at the operating level for the fourth consecutive quarter with sales of its Bravia liquid crystal display televisions and Vaio personal computers, hurt by the economic downturn, the yen's rise, and fierce price competition with foreign rivals.
For the first six months of the business year, Sony also logged an operating loss of 58.29 billion yen, compared with a year-earlier profit of 84.49 billion yen. Its sales were down 19.5 percent to 3.26 trillion yen, dragged down also by its struggling mobile phone joint venture -- Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB.
The electronics maker sold 6.5 million units of Bravia TVs, against a year-earlier 6.8 million units. Oneda admitted the first-half results were behind schedule but promised to meet its annual sales target of 15 million units by possibly pushing forward the launch of new models.
Sony said about 145 billion yen in operating profit was also wiped out by the yen's sharp rise during the April to September period. The U.S. dollar traded on average at 94 yen and the euro 132 yen, against a year-earlier 105 yen and 161 yen, respectively.
The company assumes the dollar at around the 90 yen level and the euro at the 130 yen level for the October to March period.
But Sony, which competes with Nintendo Co. in the home videogame market, saw some bright spots with July-September sales of its PlayStation 3 game consoles increasing to around 3.2 million units, from a year-earlier 2.4 million units, as demand surged following a price cut last month.
Sales of its music products were also strongly boosted by Michael Jackson albums following his death in June.
The company added that the first-half losses were smaller than expected as it pushed through broad-ranging restructuring measures including a reduction in workforce, suppliers and plants.
Sony booked 32.8 billion yen in restructuring costs for the second quarter and said it now anticipates 130 billion yen in restructuring charges, against an earlier projected 110 billion yen, for the whole fiscal year.
"The restructuring of our business structure is progressing smoothly on schedule," Oneda said.
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