• Sony loses $1.3 billion last quarter, expects to lose another $489 million this year
    42 replies, posted
[QUOTE]TOKYO — Sony said on Wednesday that it had sunk to a loss of 138 billion yen, or $1.3 billion, in the last quarter, hit by costs from selling its personal computer business. The company is forecasting more losses as it struggles to execute a long-promised turnaround. Sony, the maker of the PlayStation 4 game console, Bravia televisions and Walkman digital player, also reported a loss of ¥128.4 billion for the fiscal year that ended in March, about three times its loss of ¥41.5 billion the previous year. This month, the company, based in Tokyo, said it would report a bigger annual loss than forecast because of expenses that stemmed from selling its Vaio PC business, like restructuring charges and dealing with excess inventory in components. On Wednesday, it forecast a loss of ¥50 billion for the current fiscal year, which ends in March 2015, with overall sales expected to be flat without its PC business. The PC-related losses are expected to continue this fiscal year, totaling ¥80 billion, on top of the ¥92 billion for the last fiscal year. Sony was also hit by a drop in the value of its overseas disc manufacturing business and its battery business. Sony’s sales, over all, sales, which rose 14 percent, to ¥7.7 trillion. It is also struggling despite the perk that Japanese exporters get from a weak yen, which increases the value of overseas earnings. The dollar has strengthened over the past year to about ¥102 from ¥80. Sony said it trimmed losses at its TV operations, which have been struggling for nearly a decade, a big problem for a company that had built its reputation on the image quality of its sets. Sony is splitting off the TV division to run it as a wholly owned subsidiary. The company lost money in its mobile, device and video game businesses in the last fiscal year. But it was profitable in its movie business, where TV productions benefited from licensing agreements for game shows, including “Wheel of Fortune.” Sony’s music unit also increased profitability, on the success of albums from Daft Punk, Beyoncé and Miley Cyrus. Sony’s chief executive, Kazuo Hirai, and about 40 other senior executives are returning their entire bonuses, resulting in a reduction of their annual pay by 40 to 50 percent. Sony executives have taken some pay cuts in recent years to take responsibility for the company’s poor performance. In February, Sony announced it would withdraw from the PC business, despite the popularity of the Vaio brand among some Sony fans, especially in Japan. The deal to sell the business to a Japanese conglomerate was signed this month, and the transaction is set to be completed in July. Sony has lost much of the brand cachet that stemmed from once being at the cutting edge of consumer electronics, and is now in the shadow of companies like Apple and Samsung Electronics. In recent years, it has fallen behind in digital recorders and flat-panel TVs, while also facing competition from new players that can make appliances at a lower cost. Sony grew from modest beginnings in 1946 to a global powerhouse. It expanded into the entertainment business three decades ago, acquiring CBS Records in 1988 and Columbia Pictures in 1989. But it has never managed to take full advantage of having both electronics and entertainment businesses under its wing. In contrast[/QUOTE] [url]http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/15/business/international/sony-expects-annual-net-loss-as-it-continues-to-restructure.html[/url] They are selling off divisions to try to cope with this. That must have been some terrible management.
It's a shame, I don't think Sony really deserve it to be honest. Especially when you've got companies robbing people of their cash and profiting big time from it. But I guess that's how the world works.
I'm glad that even the Sony execs are taking pay cuts, but not too happy that Sony is suffering as a whole. Any unbiased economics major mind helping us understand where Sony is going to probably be in 5-15 years? I would hate to see it go.
How the hell did that happen? But wow, its surprising how they are taking the bullet for the company and handing over their paychecks to try to fix it.
Assuming they go bankrupt, who will compete against Microsoft and Nintendo if there is no Playstation 5?
Sony's biggest issue is the fact they are so largely spread out. I mean shit they stopped producing walkmans only a few years ago, they still amass CD's (which few buy), and have faith in physical media; then at the complete opposite end of the company you have the bleeding edge products that are so over kill that most consumers can't afford.
[QUOTE=Rocâ„¢;44810902]How the hell did that happen? But wow, its surprising how they are taking the bullet for the company and handing over their paychecks to try to fix it.[/QUOTE] In general it seems that japanese companies seem to have more loyal employees and CEOs
[QUOTE=Kagu;44810877]I'm glad that even the Sony execs are taking pay cuts, but not too happy that Sony is suffering as a whole. Any unbiased economics major mind helping us understand where Sony is going to probably be in 5-15 years? I would hate to see it go.[/QUOTE] Bankruptcy in which Sony's major divisions will be split up or sold off.
[QUOTE=seano12;44810922]Assuming they go bankrupt, who will compete against Microsoft and Nintendo if there is no Playstation 5?[/QUOTE] The way Nintendo is going, I don't think they'll last long either. #MicrosoftMonolopySoon Course', that could be just my misinformed opinion.
[QUOTE=Kagu;44810950]The way Nintendo is going, I don't think they'll last long either. #MicrosoftMonolopySoon Course', that could be just my misinformed opinion.[/QUOTE] Nintendo will last in my opinion. Their failure with the WiiU is only a setback.
[QUOTE=seano12;44810959]Nintendo will last in my opinion. Their failure with the WiiU is only a setback.[/QUOTE] I hope so. Competition between major companies, in general, benefit the consumers, so I'd hate to see one of the big 3 fall. I hope Valve's efforts in pushing Linux eventually pays off somewhat so there'd be some competition in the OS market too.
[QUOTE=seano12;44810922]Assuming they go bankrupt, who will compete against Microsoft and Nintendo if there is no Playstation 5?[/QUOTE] I would assume Sony would sell off all it's playstation assets to the highest bidder. Playstation won't ever die, it will just eventually have different parent companies. Maybe it will be a shell of it's former self, but the playstation brand is too widely known to die.
[QUOTE=RichyZ;44811013]the 3do is going to make a comeback[/QUOTE] Plumbers Don't Wear Ties 2 please.
If they do go bankrupt, that would open the doors for new systems and new competition..hopefully right? Or am I just wishfully thinking?
The article is right though, the Sony brand use to mean something of really high quality and construction. Now its just average in most of the markets.
So many headlines about The Big Three losing money. First Microsoft, then Nintendo, now Sony. Honestly it's a mystery to me as to who's gonna go down first, if any at all.
[QUOTE=Kagu;44810950]The way Nintendo is going, I don't think they'll last long either. #MicrosoftMonolopySoon[/QUOTE] Considering what Microsoft investors have been saying about the Xbox line lately, a Nintendo Monopoly seems more probable.
[QUOTE=Mr. Zombie;44811128]So many headlines about The Big Three losing money. First Microsoft, then Nintendo, now Sony. Honestly it's a mystery to me as to who's gonna go down first, if any at all.[/QUOTE] First Microsoft? Sony has been at a loss for years if you look at their financial statements going back to 2006. Microsoft at least has other profitable divisions to keep things going, which cannot be said for Sony. For example Sony Pictures has failed to be profitable for some time now. Sony's stock has also been very low for years now which can reflect a company's success.
[QUOTE=Starce;44811104]If they do go bankrupt, that would open the doors for new systems and new competition..hopefully right? Or am I just wishfully thinking?[/QUOTE] No. It's not like Sony is holding back potential competitors. The industry of making video game consoles has high barriers of entry. That wouldn't change if the Playstation is cancelled.
They lost $1.3 billion last quarter but they have $150 billion in assets and it's on the up. Talking about what will happen if they go bankrupt is fucking dumb.
Realistically, the PS4 isn't failing, and considering I work in the call centre with 27 million customers on a mobile network, where I get about 40 calls per night, I'd say out of the 5 upgrade calls, 2/3 are for Sonys, the other 3 are Samsung/iPhone. So I don't get this, unless their TV sector/ANY other sector sony reside in are failing that bad, i dunno how this is possible.
What are they going to do now? Are they going for mergers with other companies to save their company?
They are really cutting back, recently I needed repairs on my laptop and I went to the nearest store only to find out that they don't accept devices to be sent off for repairs anymore. They fired a ton of employees including the technician, I enjoy all the products Sony offers but man they need to restructure and re organize.
Shouldn't have sold their computer business. They weren't great, yeah, but I'd take a Sony any day over a Dell or HP. (God fucking help you if you're stuck on a Gateway.)
[QUOTE=Kagu;44810950]The way Nintendo is going, I don't think they'll last long either. #MicrosoftMonolopySoon Course', that could be just my misinformed opinion.[/QUOTE] Video Game Crash 2: Electric Boogaloo
Considering that they've been selling the PS4 at a loss since the release and there haven't been many games for people to buy to make up that loss, this isn't that surprising. $1.3 billion also isn't even close to a major hit to a company the size of Sony in terms of actual money, honestly the $1.3 billion loss is probably worse for Sony on the PR side than it is in terms of their actual assets. It won't take much for Sony to turnaround and make up the loss in the year.
They're also projected to only loose 1/3rd that this quarter which pretty much means it's a non issue imo. Regardless of if they loose money for the year it's the year after a console release, they're going to loose money regardless because people are buying the console. The next few years will be incredibly profitable though, more than enough to make up for it.
[QUOTE=seano12;44810922]Assuming they go bankrupt, who will compete against Microsoft and Nintendo if there is no Playstation 5?[/QUOTE] Don't worry Facebook will buy it.
[QUOTE=The Duke;44811139]Considering what Microsoft investors have been saying about the Xbox line lately, a Nintendo Monopoly seems more probable.[/QUOTE] If Nintendo keeps acting like they don't have to compete with the other consoles they are gonna die first.
[QUOTE=draugur;44811630]They're also projected to only loose 1/3rd that this quarter which pretty much means it's a non issue imo. Regardless of if they loose money for the year it's the year after a console release, they're going to loose money regardless because people are buying the console. The next few years will be incredibly profitable though, more than enough to make up for it.[/QUOTE] They do sell things other than video games you know.
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