Thursday, May 26, 2011

Sony forecasts $975 mln net profit for current year

TOKYO: Sony Corp forecast a net profit of 80 billion yen ($975 million) on Thursday, May 26 for the year that started on April 1, after net losses ballooned to 260 billion yen last business year on a tax credit write-off.

That compares with analysts' consensus of 105 billion yen, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine SmartEstimates, which places more weight on recent forecasts by top-rated analysts.

The electronics and entertainment company also said it expects to make an operating profit of 200 billion yen this business year, level with last year and in line with guidance given earlier in the week.

On Monday, Sony revised its net profit estimate for the year ended March 31, saying the impact of Japan's earthquake had clouded near-term prospects in the local market, forcing it to take a charge on tax credits.

Sony is reeling from one of the biggest ever Internet security breaches, which forced it to close its PlayStation videogames network for nearly a month after data on tens of millions of user accounts was leaked.

Hacking attacks exposed more than 100 million accounts on its online gaming network to possible data theft. On Tuesday Sony said additional websites in four countries had also been hacked. Among the break-ins, personal information for 8,500 people was leaked from its Greek Sony Music Entertainment website.

Sony said on Monday it expects the hacking and damage caused by the earthquake to drag down operating profit by 164 billion yen in the current financial year.

The company also predicted that it will sell 15 million of its flagship PlayStation 3 game consoles in the current business year compared with 14.3 million in the year just ended. Sony reiterated its plan to release a next generation portable games device by the end of 2011.

It forecast liquid crystal TV sales of 27 million units compared with 22.4 million sets in the previous term, but declined to say whether it expected the unit to be profitable.

Shares in Sony closed up 0.1 percent at 2,238 yen on Thursday ahead of the announcement, compared with a 1.5 percent gain in the benchmark Nikkei average. ($1 = 82.000 Japanese Yen) - Reuters

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