Sony has revealed that it made a $1 billion dollar loss in 2008, its first loss for 14 years. The news was revealed by chief executive Howard Stringer, who also declared that the company expects even worse results for 2009, with an anticipated loss of $1.25 billion for the financial year ending March.
Stringer attributed the poor performance to a slump in demand for the company’s leading
electronic products, such as its
VAIO laptops and
Bravia televisions . The
laptop PC market has traditionally been a strong point for
Sony, who recorded profits of $3.8 billion in 2007, yet
notebook sales have fallen victim to the reduced consumer spending emanating from the
credit crunch .
The 2009 losses will account for charges relating to a tough restructuring plan, which will result in 16,000
jobs being lost with the closure of eight manufacturing plants. Four of those will be in
Japan, with the other four in
France,
Indonesia,
Mexico and the US.
On a more positive note, the figures for 2008 weren’t as bad as had been feared, with Stringer predicting in January that losses could reach $3 billion.