Sony Corp said yesterday it suf-fered an operating loss of ¥20.8 billion (US$175 million) for the three months to September largely due to a mounting defective battery crisis.
The electronics giant, which reported a ¥74.6 billion in operating profit a year earlier, said it booked a¥51.2 billion provision for the quarter "that relates to charges expected to be incurred as a result of the [battery] recall."
Its net profit for the quarter plunged 94.1 percent to ¥1.7 billion as it incurred a pre-tax loss of ¥26.1 billion, compared with a pre-tax profit of ¥95.4 billion for the same period last year.
Despite the battery woes, sales of its electronics products as well as revenue from its film businesses remained brisk, raising total revenue for the quarter by 8.3 percent to a record ¥1.85 trillion.
Sony left its full-year forecast unchanged from its latest projection announced last Thursday when it more than halved its operating profit target for the fiscal year ending next March.
The company slashed its target for operating profit to ¥50 billion from ¥130 billion as it cut its net profit target to ¥80 billion from ¥130 billion, but left its revenue target unchanged at ¥8.23 trillion.
Sony said on Tuesday that Welsh-born chief executive Howard Stringer and president Ryoji Chubachi would continue in their jobs to oversee the recall of millions of the group's laptop computer batteries.
Sony said last week that as many as 9.6 million of its batteries could now be recalled at a cost of ¥51 billion owing to fears they might catch fire.
Sony said it believed microscopic metal particles, produced in the manufacturing processes, may cause short-circuiting and overheating in the affected batteries that were produced between August 2003 and last February.
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College