Sony Corp has reported a loss of 26.3 billion yen ($292 million) for the three months ended September as weak economic conditions and currency fluctuations impacted the electronics major.
In the comparable period, the entity had a profit of 20.8 billion yen, it said in a statement today.
Hit by the global economic slowdown and appreciating yen, Sony saw its sales and operating revenues tumble 20 per cent to 1.66 trillion yen in the second quarter of this fiscal.
The entity incurred significant equity-related losses at many of its affiliated companies in the September quarter.
"Sony recorded equity in net loss (equity-related loss) for Sony Ericsson of 10.9 billion yen, a deterioration of 9.3 billion yen year-on-year, mainly due to a decline in sales and unfavourable foreign exchange rates," the statement noted.
Sony Ericsson, which is a leading mobile phone maker, is a joint venture between Sony and Sweden-based Ericsson.
However, the company saw higher sales of its popular gaming console PlayStation.
"Due to the launch of a new model, approximately 3.2 million units of PlayStation 3 hardware were sold in the second quarter of the current fiscal year, compared to approximately 2.4 million units in the same quarter of the prior fiscal year," the statement said.
For the full year ended March 31, 2010, Sony expects to post a loss of 95 billion yen, much less than the July projection of 120 billion yen.
