Are you ready for some stock-talk and business-related profit/loss numbers? Me neither, but let's do what we can anyway. Bloomberg released a wordy, but pretty concise, report about Sony's predicted 50% loss due to high demand for the Wii and lower-than-expected demand for the PlayStation 3. Actual numbers? This time last year, Sony was reporting a whopping 169 billion yen profit. This year? 84 billion yen.All is not lost, though. Due to sales of those beautiful Bravia TV's and growth in the movie industry, Sony may exceed its overall profit target for the fiscal year. So, game division equals ouch, but the other divisions apply band-aids. In fact, Sony is so confident in its other divisions that they're expecting to report a profit of 122 bullion yen -- 50% higher than they said back in October.
If you take anything away from this, make sure that it's this: Sony is covering the PS3's start-up. Producing and pricing it at a loss, they fully expected to lose money in the gaming division. Luckily, they've got a very strong electronics department and a solid hold in the movie industry. Sure, the laptop battery recall sucks (the biggest ever recorded), but that doesn't seem to be hindering Sony from moving forward. Anyway, if you're a business/stock buff, check out Bloomberg's article for a more detailed analysis of the situation.
[via Bloomberg]
