Sony's annual loss shrinks to $439 million

By TOMOKO A. HOSAKA Associated Press Writer

TOKYO (AP) - Sony Corp. stayed in the red last business year but shrank losses through cost cuts and better sales of consumer electronics.

The Tokyo-based company Thursday reported a 40.8 billion yen ($439 million) loss for the year ended March 31, an improvement from the previous year's 98.9 billion yen loss. That was Sony's first annual loss in 14 years.

The electronics and entertainment giant booked 7 percent lower revenue of 7.21 trillion yen ($77.6 billion). But it bounced back to an operating profit of 31.8 billion yen ($342 million) after a 227.8 billion yen operating loss the previous year.

Sony credited LCD televisions and digital cameras for helping drive the company's recovery. It also cited its life insurance unit, where revenue surged 58 percent.

For the January-March quarter, Sony posted a net loss of 56.6 billion yen ($608 million) on revenue of 1.72 trillion yen ($18.4 billion).

Since taking over in 2005, Chief Executive Howard Stringer has been trying to unite the company's sprawling businesses, improve efficiency and rein in costs. His efforts appear to be paying off, with company leaner and more united as it prepares to launch a big 3-D push this year.

Sony expects to climb back into the black in the year through March 2011. It forecasts a net profit of 50 billion yen on revenue of 7.6 trillion yen.

In trading Thursday ahead of its earnings release, Sony shares jumped 4.1 percent to 3,165 yen, beating the Nikkei 225 stock average's 2.2 percent climb.

Sony reports earnings based on Japanese accounting standards.