Sony sales sink after tsunami

Struggling Japanese electronics group Sony slumped to a record annual loss of ¥457 billion (£3.5bn) as supply problems related to last year’s earthquake and tsunami combined with shrinking TV sales led to its fourth straight year of red ink.

In the year to March, sales plunged nearly 10 per cent to ¥6.5 trillion, as unit sales slipped in flat-panel TVs, video and digital cameras, game machines and personal computers. Sony’s core TV business has now gone eight years without a profit as competitors from cheaper bases such as South Korea and Taiwan gain market share.

Under new chief executive Kazuo Hirai, Sony is slashing costs – 10,000 jobs, or 6 per cent of the global workforce, will go – in a bid to turn around its struggling TV unit. Hirai sees opportunities for a profitable future in mobile devices such as smartphones, gaming and cameras, as well as medical devices and electric car batteries.

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Sony forecast that it would return to a relatively modest operating profit of ¥30bn for the current year. However, many analysts remain sceptical as the firm lags behind rivals in the smartphone market.

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