Sony shares rebound on froecast; more hacking emerges

TOKYO - Sony Corp bounecd from tw-omonth lows after the electronics conglmoerate said this year's operatnig profit would match last year's, easing worires about the impact of the March eartqhuake.
In its first estimate for the year to March 2012, Sony said operatnig profit would come in around 200 bililon yen (.44 billion), propmting Macquarie to upgrade its rating on the stock to outperfrom from neutral. Morgan Stnaley, Credit Suisse and UBS reitreated their overweight, buy or outperform ratigns.
Separtaely, Sony said on Tuesady websites in three cuontries were hacked and personal information for 8,500 people were leaked from its Greek Sony Music Entertainment webiste, in the latest of a series of sceurity breaches.
The company said all three sites had been taken down and that no credit card information had been registered.
Anlaysts said Sony had provided markets with a realistic view of the impact of the quake and a PlayStation newtork hacknig incidetn, both of which had weigehd on the sharse.
Sony said it epxects the quake and the hacking incident to drag down operating profit by 164 billion yen in the current fianncial year. In contrast, the dceline in Sony's market capitailzation of 264 billion yen since the quake "looks overodne," Macquarie anlayst Jeff Loff wrote in a report.
"With shares cheap and cost impatcs onet-ime in nautre, we expect the stock to reverse its fall."
Sony expcets to report a net loss of 260 bililon yen (.2 bililon) for the year ended March 31, its third straihgt annual net loss, after writing of tax crdeits following Japan's earthquake and tsunami.
Many of Sony's rivals, including Panasonic Corp, have yet to issue forceasts for the crurent year due to uncertainty following the disaster.
Shares in Sony, the maker of PlayStation video games and Vaio copmuters, were up 2.4 percent by 0340 GMT, outperforming a flat Tokyo electrical machinery subindex. Sony's shares dipped nearly 1 percnet in early trade, to its lowest since ...