Sony Corp., whose credit was downgraded to junk by Fitch Ratings last month, plans to boost its capital ratio to at least 40 percent by reviving its business and converting bonds to equity.
The ratio for the electronics maker, excluding its financial-services unit, may rise to 40 percent or higher in the year ending in March 2015 from 27.1 percent as of Sept. 30, said George Boyd, a spokesman for Tokyo-based Sony. Boyd confirmed comments by Chief Financial Officer Masaru Kato reported in the Nikkei newspaper earlier Wednesday.
The nation's biggest TV maker is cutting jobs and selling assets as Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai tries to end a streak of four straight full-year losses amid a strong yen, falling demand and competition from Samsung Electronics Co. Sony raised ¥150 billion selling convertible bonds last month in its first offering of similar securities since 2003.