Sony’s net loss widened as TV, Movie, and Smartphone businesses slump

Sony’s net loss widened, shares slump.

In an earnings announcement this week, Japanese electronics giant Sony told investors the company lost $196M in the quarter ending Sept. 30 even though sales climbed 10.6%. The loss was largely a result of poor performance in Sony’s movie business, but its TV business also remained unprofitable and smartphone segment lags far behind Apple and Samsung. One hedge fund investor has called for Sony to spin-off its entertainment division through an IPO in an effort to streamline the company and return it to profitability. Sony’s current CEO took over last year and is attempting to turn the company around through cost cutting measures and investment in the smartphone business. Sony is expected to receive a boost when it releases the PlayStation 4 videogame console next month, as the company expects to sell 5M units by the end of March. Shares of Sony are down over 11% at the time of writing.