Sony Posts Loss In FY14; Sees Higher Operating Income In FY15

(RTTNews) - Japanese consumer electronics company Sony Corp. (SON.L, SNE) reported Wednesday a loss in its fiscal 2014, compared to a profit last year, mainly reflecting expenses in the PC business it is exiting, impairment charges, as well as lower gains.

For fiscal 2015, the company is expecting narrower loss and significantly higher operating profit, with projected improvement in the electronics businesses and the absence of impairment charges related to long-lived assets. Meanwhile, sales are expected to be essentially flat as higher sales in the electronics businesses would be offset by an expected decrease in PC sales related to Sony's withdrawal from the PC business.

For the fourth quarter, net loss attributable to stockholders was 138.2 billion yen or $1.34 billion, compared to a net income of 93.16 billion yen in the previous fiscal year. Loss per share was 132.97 yen or $1.29, compared to profit of 79.77 yen a year ago.

Operating loss was 111.80 billion yen or $1.09 billion, compared to operating income of 145.38 billion yen last year. The significant deterioration in operating results primarily reflected a decrease in sale and remeasurement gains associated with the sale of assets and the recording of an impairment charge in the disc manufacturing business, as announced on May 1.

Prior year's results were benefited by gains from the sale of certain shares of M3, Sony's U.S. headquarters building as well as the sale of Sony City Osaki.

In the Game segment, operating loss increased primarily due to increased costs related to the launch of the PS4.

For the quarter, sales and operating revenue increased 8.1 percent to 1.87 trillion yen or $18.16 billion. On a constant currency basis, consolidated sales were essentially flat year-on-year.

For fiscal 2014, Sony's attributable net loss was 128.4 billion yen, as against a profit of 41.5 billion yen last year. In U.S. dollars, attributable net loss amounted to $1.25 billion or $1.21 per share this year. Operating income plunged 88.3 percent year-over-year to 26.5 billion yen or $257 millions. Annual sales and operating revenue grew 14.3 percent to 7.77 trillion yen, or about $75.41 billion.

Looking ahead, for fiscal year ending March 31, 2015, Sony expects net loss attributable to stockholders of 50 billion yen, narrower than last year. Operating income is projected to be 140 billion yen, a growth of 428.4 percent from the prior year, and sales and operating revenue are expected to edge up 0.4 percent year-over-year to 7.8 trillion yen.

In Japan, Sony shares gained 19 yen or 1.06 percent on Today's trading, and settled at 1,805 yen.