Natural disasters contribute to Sony's record £3.5bn loss
Sony have confirmed that last year resulted in a record loss for the electronics giant. Between poor sales and natural disasters, Sony recorded a massive 456.7bn yen, or roughly £3.5bn loss last year.
That’s double what they lost the previous year, and has meant that the company are aiming for a measly £230,000 profit this year. That’s despite a fair few pre-emptive job cuts.
So what’s caused the slide in Sony’s fortunes? Well, the Japanese double-whammy earthquake and tsunami disasters hit Sony hard on their home turf, causing significant production and infrastructural damage. Then there’s the strong yen and competition from Samsung, whose successes in the home cinema business have contributed to Sony’s own TV arm posting losses for 8 straight years.
But primarily, it’s Sony’s lack of a new killer product. Where’s this generation’s Walkman, or even this generation’s PlayStation? We’re getting instead solid but stale also-ran smartphones, tablets and TVs. Here’s hoping that these worrying figures will inspire Sony to be the creative, innovative electronics firm they once were.
