Sony Corp. seemed to have managed to slash its operating loss in the TV business by half in the fiscal year that just ended by reducing fixed costs and narrowing its product line-up, a significant improvement even though the segment has lost money for the 9th year in a row.
The company ’s TV business posted an operating loss of 148 billion yen (US$1.51 billion) in the fiscal year ended March 2012. Since then, it has struggled with fixed costs by reducing the number of TV models and ending its LCD joint venture with Samsung Electronics. As a result, it has achieved its target of halving the operating loss. Also, some fresh cost- cutting projects that began in the middle of last fiscal year are expected to have a full-year impact in fiscal 2013. It plans to offer even fewer TV models this year. Last week, it unveiled 10 new LCD TV models under the Bravia brand, including an 84-inch model using the 4K ultrahigh-definition technology. It will bring a total of just 11 models for the season. For this year, the company has decided not to sell 22 and 26-inch TVs.
