| kingofwale said: >Sony - slightly in the black or right around break-even Sony will be ridiculously in the black, fueled by strong LCD sales |
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120695513165876673.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
But poor performance in TV-set business has been dragging on the rest of the electronics unit. Sony has been unprofitable in televisions since it missed the industry's transition from traditional television sets to flat-screen models like liquid-crystal displays and plasma.
As demand for LCD sets has jumped industrywide, Sony, which procures LCD panels for its televisions mainly through a joint venture with Samsung Electronics Co., has regained market share with its popular Bravia-branded models. However, it has been unable to show consistent profits as prices have fallen sharply because of stiff competition. Last year, Sony made another strategic mistake when it didn't offer a lineup of fully digital televisions until the autumn, several months after its rivals.
The business posted a small operating profit of about 4 billion yen ($40.3 million) in the October-December quarter, but the company conceded in January that it wouldn't be profitable for the business year ended in March, as it had previously expected.
Televisions are Sony's largest electronics business, contributing 1.24 trillion yen in sales for the year ended March 31, 2007. Strengthening this business is also a matter of pride for Sony, which once dominated the field with its Trinitron cathode-ray-tube TV sets.
