Sony on Track for Fourth Straight Year of Losses

Japanese electronic behemoth Sony (NYSE: SNE) warned that the company is on track to record its fourth consecutive annual loss, attributing part of the poor performance to the rising yen and to the floods in Thailand, where the company has factories.

For the current fiscal year, Sony is forecasting a net loss of 90 billion yen ($1.15 billion), versus a prior expectation for a 60 billion yen profit.

Sony shares are down almost 6 percent in mid-morning trade in New York.

Already, a wave of Japanese firms has posted disappointing results, including Honda Motor Co, Panasonic, Nintendo Co. Ltd. and Nomura Holdings.

The company said that its TV business, which has been severely hurt by slackening demand in the U.S. and Europe, alone will record a $2.2 billion loss. In response Sony said it will restructure its TV operations, which has been losing money for seven consecutive years.

Sony, which manufactures Bravia TVs, Vaio computers and PlayStation game consoles, also slashed cut its sales forecasts for TVs, cameras and DVD players.

At a press briefing, Sony’s executive deputy President Kazuo Hirao said: The TV business is an essential part of Sony's growth strategy. We, as management, feel a great sense of crisis after seven straight years of losses.”

In the second quarter, Sony posted a loss of 27 billion yen ($346-million), compared with a 31 billion yen profit recorded in the year-ago quarter.

Shigeo Sugawara, senior investment manager at Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Asset Management, which owns Sony stock, told Reuters: I am surprised at the extent of the losses and I was anticipating TV restructuring, so I feel let down on both counts. We were focused on what would happen to Sony's TV division, but I don't see any drastic restructuring steps, in fact I can't even see any signs they've begun to cut.”

The company’s shares have fallen almost 50 percent year to date.