Sony says it expects to record an annual net loss this year of ¥170 billion ($1.4 billion), a considerable improvement on the company’s previous forecast of a net loss of ¥230 billion ($1.9 billion). Sony cited a weaker yen and improving smartphone sales for the revision and also reported that third quarter net profit had tripled from a year earlier to an estimated ¥89 billion ($758.2 million). Turnover in Q3 grew 6.1% year on year to ¥2.5 trillion ($21.3 billion).
However, the good news was tempered by the announcement of a further round of job cuts to be made in Sony’s mobile business. An additional 1,100 employees are to lose their jobs, in addition to the previously announced 1,000 staff cuts. The business has now seen its workforce reduced by one third.
Sony will confirm its third quarter results before the end of March, having delayed filing its results because of a cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment in December (Sony Given Extra Time to File Q3 Results). In the meantime, the company said it expects to report a 6.3% increase in turnover for the first nine months of the year to ¥6.2 trillion ($52.8 billion) and a net loss for the period of ¥20.1 billion ($171.1 million), which compares with a net profit for the corresponding period of last year of ¥9.9 billion ($84.3 million).
In Q3, sales from Sony’s mobile communications unit contributed ¥429 billion ($3.6 billion) to total turnover, a YoY improvement of 28.7%. The home entertainment and sound business saw sales of ¥413.3 billion ($3.5 billion), up 2.3% YoY, thanks to a significant increase in the sale of TVs in North America and Europe.
