JAPAN: Sony assesses spin-off plan while it cuts targets for cameras and smartphones

Record ID: 451698

  • Title: JAPAN: Sony assesses spin-off plan while it cuts targets for cameras and smartphones
  • Date: 22nd May 2013
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (MAY 22, 2013) (REUTERS) **CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY** EXTERIOR OF SONY HEADQUARTERS SIGN IN ENGLISH READING: "SONY" CEO KAZUO HIRAI WALKING IN (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) SONY CORP CEO, KAZUO HIRAI, SAYING: "Third Point's proposal is one that affects a core part of Sony's business and the direction of our management, so the Sony board will give it thorough consideration and discuss it at length before replying to Third Point." NEWS CONFERENCE IN PROGRESS (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) SONY CORP CEO KAZUO HIRAI, SAYING: "The board will discuss the issue and we expect to talk with our stake holders in a positive light." SIGN READING: "SONY" SONY OFFICIALS LEAVING LOBBY OF SONY BUILDING VARIOUS OF GAME CONSOLES VARIOUS OF PEOPLE LOOKING AND TESTING OUT SONY PRODUCTS VARIOUS OF SONY VISOR DISPLAY AREA SONY SMARTPHONES AND TABLETS MORE OF SONY SMARTPHONES SONY LAPTOPS SONY CAMERAS MORE OF LOBBY OF SONY BUILDING
  • Embargoed: 6th June 2013 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Business,Communications,Technology
  • Reuters ID: LVA6LBKP119O98JE7KZSCR3RQNTF
  • Story Text: Sony Corp cut its sales targets for digital cameras, smartphones and tablets by 13-17 percent for the year to end-March 2015, but said there were "encouraging" signs of a revival in its electronics business.
    CEO Kazuo Hirai told a news briefing on Wednesday (May 22) that Sony would assess a proposal from its biggest shareholder, billionaire Daniel Loeb's Third Point LLC hedge fund, that the group should sell up to a fifth of its music and movies business, which includes artists such as Adele and hit franchises like "Spider-Man".
    "Third Point's proposal is one that affects a core part of Sony's business and the direction of our management, so the Sony board will give it thorough consideration and discuss it at length before replying to Third Point," Hirai said.
    Loeb argues a partial spin-off of Sony Entertainment would free up cash to help the struggling electronics division and could boost Sony's stock price by 60 percent.
    "The board will discuss the issue and we expect to talk with our stake holders in a positive light," added Hirai.
    The company has relied on entertainment and insurance profits to offset losses from TVs and other consumer devices.
    Sony trimmed its 2014-15 camera sales target to 1.3 trillion yen ($12.7 billion) and now expects smartphone and tablet sales of 1.5 trillion yen.
    Hirai said Sony was keeping to its strategy to revive the struggling business around cameras and mobile and PlayStation gaming devices.
    Sony, which expects smartphone sales to rise by more than a quarter to 42 million in the current year to end-March, is battling with China's Huawei Technologies and ZTE Corp and South Korea's LG Electronics for third place in the $225 billion U.S. dollar global market behind Samsung Electronics and Apple Inc.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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