Sony posts £1.2bn loss on decline in Chinese mobile business

Sony countered the weakness on mobile business by upping forecasts for its much stronger gaming division

(GETTY IMAGES)

Sony has reported a huge second-quarter loss after writing down the value of its mobile handsets business in the face of margin-slashing competition from China.

The Japanese firm’s quarterly loss soared from 20 billion yen (£115 million) to 136 billion yen after it cut the value of the mobiles business by 180 billion yen.

But the reported loss was slightly lower than analysts had forecast and Sony shares, buoyed by the soaring Tokyo stock market, closed 1 per cent higher.

Sony countered the mobiles gloom by upping forecasts for its much stronger gaming division, where growth has been driven by the success of its PlayStation 4 console.

It shifted 3.3 million consoles in the three months and upped its revenue projection for the division for the full year from 10 billion yen to 35 billion yen.

Sony Pictures had a poor quarter with a lack of blockbuster releases although it had good DVD and TV licensing revenues from older films such as Spider-Man 2.