Sony forecast its losses for the current fiscal year should reach ¥50 billion/ $490 million when it ends March 2015. This is the sixth annual loss for the company in seven years. It expects to remain unprofitable until it finally exits the personal computing market. Although it has undertaken some restructuring in its business units and manufacturing, Sony chief financial officer Kenichiro Yoshida says it is now time for Sony to leave entire businesses behind and it will spend 135 billion yen as it leaves the PC business and on additional restructuring. One of which may be its television products operation, which continues to bleed cash. The announcement took analysts by surprise. The average profit for this fiscal year expected by 19 analysts polled by Bloomberg was ¥57.1 billion. “A lot of additional money-losing businesses remain for Sony to dump, though,” noted Bloomberg Businessweek. “The company hasn’t made a profit on TVs in years, and with stiff competition from South Korea and China, exiting the TV business is probably vital to any Sony turnaround. In its futile attempt to remain a player in TVs, Sony has lost ¥790 billion over the last 10 years, the company revealed today.” Based on its losses, PC market may see similar fiscal issues if it attempts to shed that portion of its business. It is focusing on products such as smartphones, cameras and game consoles. (BBC)(Bloomberg)(Bloomberg Businessweek)
