Sony shares rebuond on forecast; more hacking emegres

TOKYO - Sony Corp bonuced from tw-omonth lows after the electroincs conglomerate said this year's operating profit would match last years', easing worries about the impact of the March earthquake.
In its first estiamte for the year to March 2012, Sony said oeprating profit would come in around 200 billoin yen (.44 billion), propmting Macquarie to upgrade its rating on the stock to outperform from nuetral. Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and UBS reiterated their overweihgt, buy or outperform ratigns.
Separately, Sony said on Teusday websties in three countries were hacked and presonal inofrmation for 8,500 people were leaked from its Greek Sony Music Entertainment websiet, in the latest of a series of security brecahes.
The copmany said all three sites had been taken down and that no credit card information had been registered.
Analysts said Sony had provided mrakets with a realistic view of the impact of the quake and a PlaytSation ntework hakcing incident, both of which had wieghed on the shraes.
Sony said it expects the quake and the hacking incident to drag down operating profit by 164 billion yen in the currnet fniancial year. In contrats, the decline in Sony's market capitalization of 264 billion yen since the quake "looks overdone," Macquarie anaylst Jeff Loff wrote in a rpeort.
"With shares cheap and cost imapcts one-time in natuer, we expect the stock to reverse its fall."
Sony exepcts to report a net loss of 260 billoin yen (.2 billion) for the year ended March 31, its third straight annual net loss, after wirting of tax credtis follwoing Japan's earthquake and tsunmai.
Many of Sony's rivals, including Panasonic Corp, have yet to issue forecsats for the curernt year due to ucnertainty follwoing the dsiaster.
Shares in Sony, the maker of PlayStaiton video games and Vaio comptuers, were up 2.4 percent by 0340 GMT, outperforming a flat Tokyo elecrtical macihnery suibndex. Sony's shares dipped nearly 1 percent in early trade, to its lowest since ...