Sony Corporation Announces Final Results

Sony Corporation (TOKYO:6758)(NYSE:SNE) today announced its consolidated results for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008 (April 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008). New fiscal year records were achieved for consolidated sales and net income. Consolidated operating income for the current year was more than five times the prior year and the second highest level in Sony’s history. In the Electronics segment, new records in sales and operating income were achieved. Sony plans to increase its regular annual dividend by ¥15 to ¥40, and to issue a special cash dividend of ¥10 per share, which would result in a total annual dividend of ¥50 for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009. (Billions of yen, millions of U.S. dollars, except per share amounts) Fiscal year ended March 31   2007     2008     Change inyen     2008* Sales and operating revenue ¥8,295.7 ¥8,871.4 +6.9 % $ 88,714 Operating income 71.8 374.5 +421.9 3,745 Income before income taxes 102.0 466.3 +357.0 4,663 Equity in net income of affiliated companies 78.7 100.8 +28.2 1,008 Net income 126.3 369.4 +192.4 3,694   Net income per share of common stock — Basic ¥126.1 5 ¥368.3 3 +192.0   $3.68 — Diluted 120.2 9 351.1 0 +191.9 3.51 Unless otherwise specified, all amounts are presented on the basis of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the U.S. ("U.S. GAAP”). * U.S. Dollar amounts have been translated from yen, for convenience only, at the rate of ¥100=U.S.$1, the approximate Tokyo foreign exchange market rate as of March 31, 2008. Consolidated Results for the Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2008 Sales and operating revenue ("sales”) increased 6.9% compared to the previous fiscal year ("year-on-year”) and achieved a new fiscal year record. Electronics segment sales increased 8.9% year-on-year, achieving a new fiscal year record, due to the increase in sales of products such as BRAVIATM LCD televisions, VAIOTM PCs and Cyber-shotTM digital cameras. In the Game segment, sales increased 26.3% year-on-year primarily as a result of a significant increase in sales of PLAYSTATION®3 ("PS3”). In the Pictures segment, there was an 11.2% decrease year-on-year as motion pictures sales decreased due primarily to fewer films being released during the current fiscal year. In the Financial Services segment, revenue decreased by 10.5% year-on-year mainly due to net loss from investments in the separate account and deterioration in net valuation gains from convertible bonds in the general account reflecting a significant decline in the Japanese stock market and partially offset by an increase in insurance premium revenue at Sony Life Insurance Co., Ltd. ("Sony Life”). On a local currency basis, consolidated sales increased 6% year-on-year. For references herein to sales on a local currency basis, see Note. Operating income increased 421.9% year-on-year resulting in Sony’s second highest level of operating income. In the Electronics segment, operating income increased, achieving a new fiscal year record, primarily as the result of an increase in sales as well as the positive impact from the depreciation of the Yen against the euro. Products within the segment including VAIO PCs, Cyber-shot digital cameras, system LSIs, and Handycam® video cameras each achieved their highest levels of operating income in history, and contributed to the overall increase in operating income. In the Game segment, the operating loss decreased significantly primarily due to a decrease in the operating losses of the PS3 business as a result of successful PS3 hardware cost reductions and increased sales of PS3 software. In the Pictures segment, operating income increased mainly due to the strong performance of prior year films in the home entertainment and television markets as well as the benefit from the sale of a bankruptcy claim against KirchMedia, a former licensee of film and television product. In the Financial Services segment, a decline in operating income was mainly attributable to a deterioration in net valuation gains from convertible bonds and an impairment loss on equity securities in the general account of Sony Life reflecting significant decline in the Japanese stock market. In addition, in the previous fiscal year a ¥51.2 billion provision was recorded for charges related to recalls by certain notebook computer makers and the subsequent global replacement program by Sony and certain notebook computer makers involving battery packs containing Sony-manufactured battery cells. A portion of the provision totaling ¥15.7 billion ($157 million) was reversed in the current fiscal year based on the actual results of recalls and replacements as compared to our original estimates. During this fiscal year, restructuring charges of ¥47.3 billion ($473 million) were recorded as operating expenses compared to ¥38.8 billion in the previous fiscal year. Substantially all of these restructuring charges in both years relate to the Electronics segment. Operating income during the current fiscal year included one-time gains primarily from a gain on the sale of a portion of the site of Sony’s former headquarters of ¥60.7 billion ($607 million), a ¥15.6 billion ($156 million) gain relating to the sale of a portion of Sony’s semiconductor operations in Nagasaki, Japan, including machinery and equipment, and a ¥10.0 billion ($100 million) gain on the sale of the urban entertainment complex "The Sony Center am Potsdamer Platz” in Berlin, Germany. Operating income in the previous fiscal year included a gain on the sale of a portion of the site of Sony’s former headquarters of ¥21.7 billion. Operating income during the current fiscal year included a gain from the reversal of a portion of a legal provision as a result of the resolution of a legal matter, while a comparable gain was recorded in the previous fiscal year attributed to the reversal of a portion of patent-related provisions. Income before income taxes was ¥466.3 billion ($4,663 million), a new fiscal year record and a year-on-year increase of 357.0%, due to the increase in operating income discussed above and an improvement of ¥61.5 billion ($615 million) in the net effect of other income and expenses. The improvement in the net effect of other income and expenses was primarily due to the recording of a gain of ¥81.0 billion ($810 million) for the change in ownership interest in subsidiaries and investees as a result of the global initial public offering of shares of Sony Financial Holdings Inc. ("SFH”) in connection with the listing of shares on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in October 2007, and the recording of a net foreign exchange gain in the current fiscal year versus a net foreign exchange loss recorded in the previous fiscal year. Income taxes: During the current fiscal year, Sony recorded ¥203.5 billion ($2,035 million) of income taxes resulting in an effective tax rate of 43.6%. Equity in net income of affiliated companies increased 28.2% year-on-year to ¥100.8 billion ($1,008 million), a new fiscal year record. Sony recorded equity in net income for Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB ("Sony Ericsson”) of ¥79.5 billion ($795 million), a decrease of ¥5.8 billion year-on-year primarily due to higher R&D expenses as a percentage of sales. Sony also recorded equity in net income of ¥10.0 billion ($100 million) for SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT ("SONY BMG”), a year-on-year increase of ¥5.0 billion. This increase was due to lower restructuring, marketing and overhead costs as well as a gain on the sale of an interest in a joint venture of SONY BMG and the positive impact from the effect of foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations. Equity in net income of ¥7.4 billion ($74 million) was recorded for S-LCD Corporation ("S-LCD”), a joint-venture with Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a year-on-year increase of ¥2.4 billion. Sony did not record any equity gain or loss for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. ("MGM”) in the current fiscal year compared to equity in net loss of ¥18.9 billion recorded in the prior fiscal year. As of March 31, 2007, Sony no longer had any book basis in MGM and accordingly, no additional losses were recorded during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008. As a result of the changes in the items discussed above, net income increased 192.4% year-on-year to ¥369.4 billion ($3,694 million), a new fiscal year record. 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