Sony Corp. to delay Q1 report over The Interview hack

[Train wreck]

Bloomberg story from the 23rd. Don't know where this site got its information.

Sony Corp. (6758) is delaying the release of its final quarterly earnings, citing the disruption of accounting systems last year during a crippling cyber-attack on the company’s film studio.

The attack, which U.S. officials have blamed on North Korean hackers angered over the Seth Rogen spy-caper comedy “The Interview,” left the company unable to produce a full third-quarter report by the expected Feb. 16 deadline, Sony said. The company instead sought permission to file its final earnings statement March 31, last day of the fiscal year.

Sony still plans to update investors, analysts and the media on earnings and outlook “to the extent reasonably possible” for other units -- including smartphones and TVs -- while completing the accounting for Sony Pictures Entertainment. Critical financial and accounting applications at Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. weren’t expected to be functional until early next month.

The Feb. 4 report would include October data for Sony Pictures and forecasts for November and December, a company spokesman said.

Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai said earlier this month he believes the studio would emerge stronger after the cyber-attack, which exposed Hollywood secrets and led the company to initially cancel the release of “The Interview.” The studio expects to recoup the $60 million it spent on the film after a limited release online and in some theaters.

The FBI said North Korea was behind the attack, which rendered thousands of computers inoperable and forced Sony Pictures to take its entire network offline.

The total costs relating to the hack may be around 20 billion yen ($169 million), Amir Anvarzadeh, a manager of Japanese equity sales at BGC Partners Inc. in Singapore, wrote in an e-mailed report before the announcement. Amir recommends buying Sony’s shares.

The stock closed 4.8 percent higher at 2,737 yen in Tokyo today.

To contact the reporters on this story: Pavel Alpeyev in Tokyo at [e-mail]; Grace Huang in Tokyo at [e-mail]

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Michael Tighe at [e-mail] Brendan Scott