Sony Blu-ray write-down
May 2, 2014
By Chris Forrester
Sony has confirmed it would take a $145 million write-down on its Blu-ray disc business. The fresh profit warning came just 3 months after the previous guidance. Sony’s results (for 2013-14) are issued on May 14th.
Sony was a pioneer for Blu-ray technology but now says it has further revised downward its anticipated profitability reflecting the slump in sales of packaged media. Sony says it does not expect to recover the value of its current stockpile of product.
Instead, consumers are buying into streamed entertainment services from established pay-TV broadcasters as well as new entrants Netflix, iTunes and other OTT suppliers of content.
Sony says that it lost Y130 billion ($1.27 billion), compared with the February forecast of Y110 billion ($1.08 billion). In the previous year to March 2013 it turned out profits of Y43 billion ($430 million). Sony wrote down Y30 billion on exiting its PC business, as well as Y25 billion of impairments on overseas disc manufacturing (music and video).