Tokyo - Sony Corp on Wednesday increased its expected net loss to 230 billion yen (2.15 billion dollars) for the current financial year as it slashed the value of its mobile communications branch.
In July, the struggling Japanese consumer electronics maker predicted a net loss of 50 billion yen for the year through March 2015.
Sony said it will report an impairment charge of about 180
billion yen in the second quarter of the financial year.
Impairment charges reflect a write-down in goodwill value. They are applied when an asset's market value falls lower than its book value, and the difference cannot be made up by projected cash flow from that asset.
The company also predicted an operating loss of 40 billion yen, compared with an operating profit of 140 billion yen it had estimated two months ago.
Sony also said the company will not pay a dividend for the year for the first time since its listing in 1958.
The management “takes this tough decision very seriously,” Sony president and chief executive Kazuo Hirai told a news conference.
Sony also plans to eliminate jobs in the mobile communications branch by 15 per cent, or about 1,000 employees, said Hirai, who took office in April 2012.
The company's move on Wednesday came after its smartphone sales failed to meet expectations.
Hirai vowed to turn the business around as the company has been left far behind rivals such as Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co. The mobile communications sector is one of the areas into which he has put more effort.
Sony ended the previous financial year with a net loss of 128.4
billion yen, compared with a net profit of 41.5 billion yen the year before.
Sapa-dpa