Sony posts a $312 million Q2 loss on poor game sales and a costly restructuring

Sony CEO Kazuo Hirai ‘s “One Sony” strategy is having some adverse effects on the company’s bottom line — and sales elsewhere aren’t helping.

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The company lost $312 million during its second quarter, a number attributed to poor sales in its gaming, home entertainment, and mobile divisions, as well as its ongoing restructuring efforts.

The gaming end was particularly bad, contributing $45 million to the losses on a 14.5 percent drop in sales. Sony blames the drop on its aging Playstation 3 and PSP consoles, neither of which are attracting much attention from consumers anymore.

Overall sales for the quarter came in at $19.2 billion, a shift Sony attributes to its acquisition of Sony Mobile. Still, overall restructuring efforts in the Mobile Products and Communications Division division contributed $356 million in losses.

Some good news is that Sony’s television business is still inching towards profitability: It cut operating losses to $84 million, though sales continue to slide. Translation: Sony is losing less money in a sector that’s struggling against competitors like Samsung.

Sony saw some success in its imaging products division, which reported a $160 million profit on a  7.6 percent increase in sales. Sony has been making a lot of big moves in the camera sector, including a planned $997 million investment in camera sensor production.

Sony admits that the market for digital cameras is shrinking as consumer interest has shifted to smartphones. The company says it aims to fix this problem by focusing on its high-end camera line, which has seen greater demand.

As a result of its numbers, Sony is lowering is outlook for the year.

Photo: pcruciatti / Shutterstock

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