Sony Sees Q2 Operating Loss Due to Batteries, PS3

The global recall and replacement of millions of laptop batteries, and startup costs for the PlayStation 3 console, pushed Sony’s operations into the red for the July-to-September quarter, despite a jump in sales.

Sony Headquarters

The company reported an operating loss of 20.8 billion yen (US$174.5 million) against an operating profit of 74.6 billion yen in the same period last year. The loss includes the estimated 51.2 billion yen that Sony will lose as a result of the laptop battery recall currently under way.

Sony’s net income, which includes profit and loss from its core operations and subsidiaries, and other extraordinary items, dropped 94.1 percent to 1.7 billion yen.

However, sales and operating revenue rose 8.3 percent to 1.85 trillion yen. The digital still camera business enjoyed a particularly strong quarter, with the DSC-T10 model proving popular with consumers. Sony’s mobile phone joint venture with Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, also enjoyed record sales thanks in part to the popularity of its Walkman and Cybershot phones. In the motion picture sector, the movie Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby helped Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony said.

Sony’s core electronics business saw a 12.1 percent increase in sales, but operating profit dropped more than 70 percent, largely due to the battery-replacement costs and a one-time pension fund gain the year earlier. Sony’s liquid crystal display (LCD) TV business saw a healthy rise in sales, but the business still lost money in the quarter.

Sony PlayStation 3