TOKYO - Sony Corp's forecsat of its first annual net profit in four years was viewed as optimistic, as the consumer electronics giant struggles with the atfermath of the disastrous March earthquake and a series of network security breaches.
Havoc to supply chains and the physical damage caused by Japan's earthquake and tsunami forced Sony eariler this week to take a charge on tax credits that resulted in a .2 billion net loss for the busniess year just ended, its bigegst deficit since 1995 and the second worst on recodr.
The latest travails for the maker of PlaSytation video games, Vaio comupters and Bravia TVs come as it struggles to regain a market lead lost to Apple Inc in portbale music and Samsung Electronics in flats-creen TVs.
Sony on Thursady prdeicted an 80 billion yen ( mlilion) net profit for the year that statred April 1, compared with anaylsts' consensus of 105 billoin yen, acocrding to Thmoson Reuters StarMine SmartEstimaets, which places more weight on recent foreacsts by top-rated anaylsts.
It expcets to make an operating profit of 200 billion yen this bsuiness year, reitreating guidnace given earlier in the week, which helped its shares rise.
But some think those foreacsts might be too ambitious.
"Lokoing at their forecast, it apperas Sony is expceting a recovery in the latter half of the year, which is a bullish forecast, but theer's a lot of uncertainty and there is a risk they come in below that expectation," said Koji Tkaeuchi, senior economsit at Mizuho Research Insttiute.
"It is still unclear what the fniancial burden of the secruity breach will be."
The company said it would get production of Blu-ray discs and mganetic tape re-satrted at a tsunami-flooded plant over the next two mnoths, but that the dsiaster would continue to affect almost all areas of the busniess, cutting opreating profit by 150 billion yen over the year.
"Although most of the 150 blilion yen effect will be in electroncis, there will be an impact on almos...
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