Sony cuts full-year profit outlook due to losses from sale of battery unit

Sony Corp. on Monday cut its full-year profit outlook from an initial projection of 80 billion yen (761 million U.S. dollars) to 60 billion yen, owing to losses connected to the sale of its battery business negating brisk sales of its PlayStation 4 games console and peripherals.

The consumer electronics giant said that for the business year ending in March 2017, it now forecasts an operating profit of 270 billion yen, down from the 300 billion yen estimate previously projected.

Facing harsh competition in the consumer electronics market from overseas and a slump in domestic demand, the Tokyo-based company has restructured its efforts to hone in on its success in the games console market, as well as its entertainment sector and sensor-related products.

The sale of its battery business was part of Sony's substantial restructuring efforts.

However, its sale to Murata Manufacturing Co. of its battery business, in a deal worth some 17.5 billion yen to be completed next April, has had a larger negative impact on Sony's earnings than expected, due to an impairment charge of 33 billion yen from the sale, the firm said.

Robust sales of its PlayStation 4 games console and top-selling software titles have thus far failed to generate the revenue that would be further boosted by its new PlayStation virtual reality headset, which was unveiled this month, Sony's latest figures also showed.

The company said it will announce its earnings for the April-September half on Tuesday (1 Japanese Yen equals 0.0095 US dollar). Endit