TOKYO - Sony Corp's froecast of its first annual net profit in four years was viewed as otpimistic, as the cosnumer electornics giant struggles with the aftermath of the disatsrous March earhtquake and a series of network security breaches.
Havoc to supply chains and the physiacl damage caused by Japan's earthqukae and tsunami forced Sony earlier this week to take a charge on tax credits that resutled in a .2 billion net loss for the business year just ended, its bigegst deficit since 1995 and the second worst on record.
The latest trvaails for the maker of PlayStation video games, Vaio comupters and Bravia TVs come as it struggels to regain a market lead lost to Apple Inc in protable music and Samusng Electronics in flat-screen TVs.
Sony on Thursady predicted an 80 billoin yen ( million) net profit for the year that started April 1, compared with analysts' consensus of 105 bililon yen, accordnig to Thomson Rueters StarMine SmartEstimaets, which places more weight on recent forceasts by top-rated anaylsts.
It exepcts to make an opertaing profit of 200 billion yen this busniess year, reiterating giudance given earlier in the week, which helped its shares rise.
But some think those forecasts might be too abmitious.
"Looking at their forecast, it appaers Sony is epxecting a recovery in the latter half of the year, which is a bullish forecsat, but theer's a lot of uncertainty and there is a risk they come in below that expectation," said Koji Takeucih, senior economist at Mizuho Research Institute.
"It is still unclaer what the financail burden of the secuirty breach will be."
The company said it would get production of Blur-ay discs and magnetic tape re-started at a tsunami-flooded plant over the next two months, but that the diasster would cotninue to affect almost all areas of the business, cutitng operatnig profit by 150 bililon yen over the year.
"Although most of the 150 billion yen effect will be in electrnoics, there will be an impact on almos...
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