JAPAN: AS TECHNOLOGY SHARES PLUMMET, SONY UNVEILS NEW BUSINESS PLANS TO KEEP PROFITS BOOMING
Record ID:
451758
JAPAN: AS TECHNOLOGY SHARES PLUMMET, SONY UNVEILS NEW BUSINESS PLANS TO KEEP PROFITS BOOMING
- Title: JAPAN: AS TECHNOLOGY SHARES PLUMMET, SONY UNVEILS NEW BUSINESS PLANS TO KEEP PROFITS BOOMING
- Date: 30th March 2001
- Summary: (U3) TOKYO, JAPAN (MARCH 29, 2001) (REUTERS) 1. SLV SONY SEMINAR 0.06 2. SCU VIDEO SHOWN AT SEMINAR (7 SHOTS) 0.22 3. MV SONY OFFICIALS ON STAGE 0.26 4. (SOUNDBITE)(Japanese) SONY CHAIRMAN AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE NOBUYUKI IDEI SAYING "In the era of broadband networks, Sony has both the hardware for a network gateway and content. Up until now, over the last decade Sony, which is an electronics firm has overcome many differences through acquisition of firms like Sony Music, by bridging the gap between eastern and western cultures and through working with record companies based in New York and movie companies based in Hollywood, to prepare for this day" 1.17 5. SCU SCREEN PRESENTATION; SLV REPORTERS LISTENING; MV IDEI AT PODIUM (3 SHOTS) 1.33 6. SLV INTERIOR OF TOKYO STOCK EXCHANGE 1.42 7. MV PEOPLE WORKING AT STOCK EXCHANGE; ELECTRONIC BOARDS (3 SHOTS) 1.55 8. SCU CURRENCY BROKERS WORKING; ELECTRONIC BOARDS; MV/SCU/MV MORE CURRENCY WORKERS (12 SHOTS) 2.57 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 14th April 2001 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: TOKYO, JAPAN
- Country: Japan
- Reuters ID: LVA4M2G8FSN4WHZ88QYSKK2NN63G
- Story Text: As global technology shares plummet, Sony has unveiled
new business plans to keep the company's profits booming.
The new direction was unveiled at a seminar in Tokyo on
Thursday (March 29).
Sony hopes to re-ignite its business by focusing more on
mobile products, an area where Japan is leading the world and
seeing brisk growth.
The electronics giant is upgrading its cellular phone
handset operations into a full division and emphasize its
mobile computing products.
It also hopes to cash in more on its software sectors
"In the era of broadband networks, Sony has both the
hardware for a network gateway and content. Up until now, over
the last decade Sony, which is an electronics firm has
overcome many differences through acquisition of firms like
Sony Music, by bridging the gap between eastern and western
cultures and through working with record companies based in
New York and movie companies based in Hollywood, to prepare
for this day," Nobuyuki Idei, Sony chairman and executive
officer told reporters at the seminar.
As part of its strategic business plan for the 2001/02
year beginning in April, Sony said it would increase the
number of its major divisions, internally called "network
companies", to seven from the current five. The structure was
first adopted in 1999.
Sony also moved to centralise management by creating what
it calls a "global hub" which will be led by Chairman and
Chief Executive Nobuyuki Idei, President and Chief Operating
Officer Kunitake Ando, and Chief Financial Officer Teruhisa
Tokunaka.
This global hub will centralise decision making on
strategic investments and also exercise greater control over
strategy in its U.S. entertainment holdings as well as Sony's
new ventures into financial areas, such as banking. Sony
already operates liability and life insurance units.
Sony's profits sagged in the crucial last three months of
2000, hit by production glitches on its flagship PlayStation2
game console and lingering strength in the yen, causing it to
halve its full-year net profit forecast to 5 billion yen
(40.89 million U.S. dollars).
As Sony announced it's future plans, the Tokyo stock
market took another hit on Thursday after U.S. stock fell
overnight.
The benchmark Nikkei average closed down 693.15 points or
5.04 percent at 13,072.36, its biggest one-day percentage loss
since April 17 2000, when the average dropped 6.98 percent.
The dollar was bid at 122.45 yen at 0605 GMT slightly
above the late Wednesday (March 28) New York figure of 122.23.
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None