Sony on Wednesday slashed its full-year loss forecast, citing a weak yen and pickup in its smartphone and PlayStation console businesses, but warned of more job cuts as it struggles to return to profitability. The company said it now expects to lose 170 billion yen ($1.4 billion) in its fiscal year to March, down by more than a quarter from an earlier 230 billion yen estimate, as it also pointed to falling restructuring costs.
A weak yen helped Sony's third-quarter results as net profit more than tripled to an estimated 89 billion yen, while sales grew 6.1 percent to 2.55 trillion yen, it estimated. Sony published estimates Wednesday after earlier saying it would delay its finalised numbers after a cyberattack at its Hollywood film unit - linked to North Korean satire "The Interview" - compromised "a large amount of data". On Wednesday, it said that investigating the attack and fixing the problems at Sony Pictures Entertainment would cost at least $35 million, but added that it wouldn't have a significant impact on earnings. Also Wednesday, Sony announced that it would shed another 1,100 jobs in its mobile phone business - on top of a previously announced 1,000 redundancies, which will mean the division is losing about one-third of its workforce.
Sony has struggled in the consumer electronics business that built its global brand, including losing billions of dollars in televisions over the past decade as fierce competition from lower-cost rivals pummelled the TV subsidiary's finances. The company is going through a huge restructuring, including unloading its laptop business and selling its Manhattan headquarters, in a bid to drag itself out of the red. The firm's loss forecast included a huge writedown in its Xperia phone unit, as it falls further behind rivals Samsung and iPhone maker Apple.
Critics have repeatedly called for deeper cuts, including exiting the television business altogether - which Sony has so far resisted. It also brushed off a US hedge fund's call to spin off part of its movie and music business. "Our decision to withdraw from the personal computer business has had a big impact," Sony's chief financial officer Kenichiro Yoshida told reporters Wednesday.
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