TOKYO: Sony yesterday said it would lose $2.14bn this fiscal year, more than four times its earlier forecast as the Japanese electronics giant blamed a downturn in its mobile phone business.
The company also said it would cut the smartphone unit’s global staff by 15 percent — about 1,000 jobs — and not pay dividends for the first time since its shares started trading in Tokyo in 1958.
The surprise announcement that Sony was heading for 230bn yen net loss in the fiscal year to March 2015 comes only months after it tipped a loss of just 50bn yen, citing a turnaround in its hard-hit television unit.
Sony has cut expectations for sales in the money-losing smartphone business, which has been hit by weaker-than-expected results in emerging markets, as it faces off against global rivals including Samsung and Apple.
The ballooning loss forecast -- which Sony blamed on taking a charge to account for the declining value of its mobile unit -- was likely to resurrect fears that the once world-leading electronics company has a lot more work ahead to cast off years of losses.
AFP
