PSP World

Sony Posts $239M Loss for Second Quarter

Things are still not rosy for Sony, as the corporation posted its fourth consecutive quarter of losses today. Despite brighter signs in the gaming division, sales of video game hardware were not enough to turn fortunes around for the company, which has been struggling against weak consumer demand and a strong Japanese Yen. The entire Sony business posted a loss for the fourth consecutive quarter of JPY 26.3 billion ($239 million) from July to September, compared to a profit of JPY 11.05 billion in 2008.

On the positive side, sales of the PlayStation 3 hardware grew during the second quarter to 3.2 million units, compared to 2.4 million in the previous year. The company also profited from Michael Jackson's recent death, thanks to increased sales of albums and other merchandise.

However, overall losses grew in the group responsible for PlayStation products, to JPY 58.8 billion, from JPY 40.6 billion in 2008. Sales of the handheld PSP were down marginally from 3.2 million to 3 million, while worldwide PlayStation 2 sales fell from 2.5 million to 1.9 million. An inability to cut prices due to a strong Japanese Yen was partly to blame for this poor performance, the company said. Sony Chief Financial Officer Nobuyuki Oneda forecasted that the PlayStation 3 business would not be profitable until 2010, partly because of the recent price cut in August by $100 to about $300.

Losses were lower than some financial analysts expected, leading to a positive day of trading for the company. Despite a series of quarterly losses, Sony Corporation stock is up from a $16 low in March of 2009 to a current high of $30 USD.

An aggressive marketing campaign and price cut helped boost PS3 hardware sales in Q2 2009.

[Source: Sony financial statements]