Tokyo: Sony Corp. surprised investors on Wednesday by warning it is heading for its fourth straight annual net loss and that its TV business alone would produce a loss of $2.2 billion because of tumbling demand and a surging yen and and said it would shrink its unprofitable television business, making it the second Japanese electronics group this week to announce a strategic retreat from TVs.
The Japanese electronics giant told shareholders as recently as July that it was on track to make a Y60bn profit during the period, but performed a dramatic volte face today as it reported a third quarter operating loss of Y1.6bn.
Investors had expected Sony to reduce its profit forecast, but not flag a swing to massive losses.
Sony vowed to bring an end to losses in its TV division, which it expects to report its eighth straight annual loss. But it gave scant details of a plan to halve losses next year and drag the unit into the black by March 2014.
Sony said it expected TV losses to be 175 billion yen ($2.2 billion) this financial year, including a 50-billion-yen impairment charge. It cut TV sales forecast by nine per cent to 20 million sets, its second reduction this year.
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