Sony's latest restructuring plan, aimed at putting the struggling consumer electronics giant back on its feet, got a skeptical response yesterday as analysts criticized its lack of substance and fresh thinking.
Sony boss Howard Stringer, drafted in to reverse the slump at the Japanese high-tech icon, announced 10,000 job cuts on Thursday and a swathe of asset disposals but crucially stuck with his vision of the group as an electronics to entertainment colossus.
He also issued its second profit-warning this year, forecasting a net loss of ¥10 billion (US$90 million) in the year to March 2006, largely owing to one-off costs linked to the restructuring drive, its new British-born chief executive said in the keenly awaited three-year business recovery plan.
PHOTO: EPA
The big set-piece announcement was seen as the first major test for Stringer, the first foreigner to take the helm at Sony in its six-decade history, but first reactions yesterday were less than encouraging.
Many questioned Sony's content-to-product strategy and the new plan disappointed those looking for a more radical departure at a company that is struggling with the likes of Apple, which marries style and high-tech sophistication in its must-have iPod music player.
Thursday's announcement was more "a general policy speech" by the new management, lacking in details and similar to earlier plans which have not worked, Nomura Securities analyst Eiichi Katayama told the Asahi Shimbun daily.
"The new management plan is similar to the previous plan issued in 2003. It lacks fresh and drastic growth strategies," he told the Asahi.
Nagao Fusako, analyst for Standard and Poor's, saw no significant change.
"We appreciate the planned reduction of the product line but a closer review of the plan is necessary to assess whether it will actually improve earnings," Fusako told Jiji Press.
"In the electronics segment, it is unclear whether the [plan] will result in improved product competitiveness and enhance the company's ability to deal with falling prices of digital appliances," she said.
Press comment was equally unenthusiastic.
"The new business plan ... fails to clarify key issues, such as the intended core of its mainstay electronics division and the type of business model it will use to turn a profit in that core operation," the Nihon Keizai Shimbun said in an analysis.
"While the plan does mention cost cutting and structural reorganization, it does not identify the non-strategic divisions that will be sold off or shut down," the paper said.
"The absence of such details makes it harder to assess if the plan will help Sony regain its competitive edge," Japan's top business daily said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source