Sony forecasts net loss for fiscal year, moves to exit PC business

TOKYO (Reuters/AFP) - Japanese electronics maker Sony Corp warned it expects a net loss of 110 billion yen (S$1.37 billion) this fiscal year as it absorbs restructuring costs linked to its moves to exit the personal computer business.

Sony, which had previously estimated a net profit of 30 billion yen in the 12 months through March 2014, also said its mobile unit and home entertainment business fell short of expectations in the first nine months of the year.

Sony cut its operating profit forecast for the fiscal year to 80 billion yen from the 170 billion yen it previously expected. Losses in the TV business have long dogged its efforts to compete with global consumer electronics giants like Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co.

For the October-December quarter alone, Sony reported an operating profit of 90.3 billion, up from 46.43 billion yen a year earlier, as its financial division performed strongly. That was above a consensus forecasts of 71.9 billion yen, the average of estimates from six analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The firm, which said it earned 11.17 billion yen in the nine-months to December but would lose 110 billion yen over the full fiscal year, announced it would sell its PC unit under the Vaio brand to a Japanese investment fund.

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