Sony predicts $6.4bn loss

Struggling tech giant Sony expects its net loss for the fiscal year ending 31 March 2012 will be more than double what it forecast two months ago, IT World Canada reports.

The company now expects to report a net loss of $6.4 billion for the fiscal year. Sony says the increase was due to large one-time tax expenses generated overseas, which will be booked in the later part of the fiscal year.

Kazuo Hirai, former PlayStation executive who took over as Sony CE, says he is prepared to take "painful steps" to revive the company, amid reports that the firm is readying massive jobs cuts, Digital Spy states.

It's expected that Hirai will foster greater convergence between Sony's entertainment properties, including Sony Music, Sony Pictures and PlayStation, and its electronics brands, including Vaio, Bravia and the new Sony Mobile unit, in a bid to drive up sales.

Hirai has dismissed suggestions that Sony should pull out of the TV market and states that the company's Bravia line will be crucial to his “convergence” strategy, Techno Buffalo says.

Tetsuru Ii, president of Commons Asset Management, says: “To bring Sony back, Hirai needs to develop personnel and platforms that create competitive and innovative products, but that will be a formative task after a lot of talent left under early retirement plans.”