Sony sees less red ink, postpones outlook because of quake

FILE - In this Feb. 4, 2015 file photo, a man walks by the Sony Building at Ginza shopping district in Tokyo. Sony Corp. reported an 88.4 billion yen ($818 million) loss in January-March, a smaller flow of red ink than a year earlier, but it postponed Thursday, April 28, 2016, giving its annual outlook until May, citing damage from major earthquakes in southwestern Japan earlier this month. The quakes shut down Sony Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp.'s Kumamoto Technology Center, which makes image sensors and other devices. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File) FILE - In this Feb. 4, 2015 file photo, a man walks by the Sony Building at Ginza shopping district in Tokyo. Sony Corp. reported an 88.4 billion yen ($818 million) loss in January-March, a smaller flow of red ink than a year earlier, but it postponed Thursday, April 28, 2016, giving its annual outlook until May, citing damage from major earthquakes in southwestern Japan earlier this month. The quakes shut down Sony Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp.'s Kumamoto Technology Center, which makes image sensors and other devices. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

By Associated Press April 28, 2016 2 min read

TOKYO (AP) – Sony Corp. reported an 88.4 billion yen ($818 million) loss in January-March, a smaller flow of red ink than a year earlier, but it postponed Thursday giving its annual outlook until May, citing damage from major earthquakes in southwestern Japan earlier this month.

The quakes shut down Sony Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp.’s Kumamoto Technology Center, which makes image sensors and other devices.

Quarterly sales for the Japanese electronics and entertainment company slipped nearly 6 percent from a year earlier to 1.8 trillion yen ($16.9 billion). The company racked up a 106.8 billion yen loss in the same period a year earlier.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, Sony posted a 147.8 billion yen ($1.4 billion) profit, a reversal from 126 billion yen in losses the year before. It was the first time in three years Sony was able to post a profit.

For the quarter ended March 31, Sony’s operations in mobile communications and devices lagged, while games, movies and imaging operations fared better.