Sony’s mobile division continues to drown, but the overall outlook remains positive

By Williams Pelegrin April 30, 2015

Xperia Z4 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Earlier today, Sony published its results for the fiscal year 2014 and its predictions for fiscal year 2015, and there aren’t many surprises: its mobile division is still drowning, but everything else looks pretty good, according to its fiscal results.

For the fiscal year 2014, Sony reported an operating profit of $576 million, though the company also reported a net loss of $1.06 billion. This loss was mainly due to the impairment charge that Sony took over its mobile business. Even so, Sony’s profits were driven by camera sensors, gaming, and entertainment.

Looking ahead to fiscal year 2015, Sony predicts mobile sales will decrease due to a renewed focus on high-end hardware like the recently-announced Xperia Z4 and a decreased focus on mid-range hardware like the Xperia E4. For its mobile division, Sony predicts $11 billion in revenue, a 7.1 percent decrease from 2014. However, this is balanced by a predicted smaller operating loss: $328 million, compared to 2014’s $1.8 billion operating loss.

Elsewhere, Sony predicts its overall business will finally enter the black for the first time in three years, with the company hoping to record a net income of $1.17 billion. Sony also hopes to record an operating profit of $2.7 billion, with the company saying these are all conservative numbers. As such, Sony might perform even better than these numbers lead us to believe.

It remains apparent that Sony’s mobile division continues to bring the company down, and the lukewarm reception of the Xperia Z4 hasn’t helped matters. Even so, its camera sensors are in everything from Samsung to Apple devices, the PlayStation 4 sold 14.5 million units in the fiscal year 2014, and improvements were seen across the board, so Sony’s positive outlook is warranted.

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Williams Pelegrin

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…

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