Sony Corp. continues to struggle to rebuild its electronics businesses, reporting on Wednesday a ¥128.4 billion net loss for the business year that ended March 31.
Its sales for fiscal 2013 increased to ¥7.7 trillion, up 14.3 percent, thanks to a weaker yen, steady sales of the PlayStation 4 and smartphones. But operating profit plunged to ¥26.5 billion, down 88.3 percent.
The drop in operating profit was due to a ¥91.7 billion loss related to the PC business, which the firm decided to sell, impairment loss of the battery business and decreasing profit from selling assets.
While its movie, music and financial sections earned around ¥270 billion in operating profit, the electronics giant posted a ¥95.2 billion operating loss from the electronics business, which ran a deficit for the third straight year.
Yet the firm stressed that the profitability of the electronics arm has improved, with its TV business bleeding less, for instance.
Sony managed to secure a net profit of ¥41.5 billion in fiscal 2012, and initially forecast that it would again turn a profit in 2013.
But it subsequently revised the initial forecast downward three times, while deciding to sell its PC business, cutting 5,000 jobs and spinning off the money-losing TV business into a separate company.
The outlook for fiscal 2014 still appears grim, as Sony has forecast a net loss of ¥50 billion.