Tokyo – Sony reported a double-digit drop in sales and loss in its fiscal first quarter, ended June 30.
Sony said company sales were down 19.2 percent to $16.7 billion. It also reported a $386 million loss, compared with a close to $370 million profit for last year’s first quarter.
In its consumer products and devices segment, sales were down 27.3 percent to $8.06 billion, and the segment reported an operating loss of $20 million, compared with an operating profit of $381.3 million during the same time last year.
The unit’s performance was blamed on the depreciation of the yen, the global economy and intense price competition. Sales of Bravia LCD TVs, Cyber-shot compact digital cameras and Handycam digital cameras all decreased.
In the networked products and services segment, which PlayStation is part of, sales were $2.57 billion, down 37.4 percent in yen, and it had an operating loss of $414 million, compared with a nominal profit in the prior year’s first quarter.
Sales of PlayStation3 and PlayStation Portable were down in the first quarter, along with Vaio PCs. Price competition on the game systems hardware and software, as well as for PCs, created the loss.
Sony is considering financial support for Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, according to a Bloomberg report from a news briefing in Tokyo. Sony holds a 50 percent stake in the company, which reported a 40 percent drop in sales for the quarter, ended June 30, and reported net loss of $308 million.
