Sony Corporation today announced its Q3 FY2013 financial results. Revenues came in at ¥2.41 trillion (about CA$26 billion), a 23.9% increase over the same quarter a year ago with profits hitting ¥27 billion ($290 million). Helping its numbers was a “significant increase in sales of smartphones.”
Despite the profit, Sony now expects to record a net loss of ¥110 billion (about CA$1.2 billion) for its 2013 fiscal year. It will also lay off some 5,000 employees in a bid to turn its fortunes around.
In terms of numbers on the mobile side, Xperia smartphone shipments hit 10.7 million units, up from the 10 million the previous quarter and 8.7 million in Q3 2012. With the holiday shopping season falling squarely in this quarter, it appears that Sony struggled to
Despite showing steady improvement, the numbers are likely to have failed to meet Sony’s own expectations. It has now cut its full 2013 forecast from 42 million to 40 million smartphones. The reduction may also be a sign that Sony will not launch its next flagship smartphone, the Sony Xperia Z2 perhaps, in its final FY2013 quarter.
A number of changes are coming to Sony’s mobile division. The company has confirmed that it is in discussions with Microsoft to possibly offer a Windows Phone smartphone. With Microsoft reportedly wooing manufacturers with significant incentives, the decision to split its focus away from only Android may be an easier one for Sony. After indicating that it would focus less on the U.S. market, the company quickly changed its mind and promised to start focusing more on this potentially lucrative market.
It remains to be seen if Sony will hang on to its goal of selling 80 million smartphones in 2015 in a bid to establish itself as one of the world’s top three smartphone manufacturers.
Source : Sony