Sony Corp. said Thursday it remained in the red in the April to September period with a group net loss of ¥40.11 billion, compared with a loss of ¥42.48 billion a year earlier, due partly to the strong yen and slowing sales of products such as digital cameras.
The Tokyo-based electronics maker said its group operating profit surged 41.2 percent to ¥36.53 billion. Its group sales grew 1.6 percent to ¥3.12 trillion after turning its mobile phone unit into a wholly owned subsidiary.
For the current business year through March, the company revised downward its consolidated sales outlook by ¥200 billion to ¥6.6 trillion, due to lower-than-expected sales of products including digital cameras and portable game devices amid the global economic slowdown.
The company said the anticipated decline in sales was also attributable to the deteriorating ties between Japan and China over the Senkaku isle row.
But Sony left its group operating and net profit estimates unchanged at ¥130 billion and ¥20 billion, respectively, owing to restructuring efforts.