$388 Million Quarterly Loss By Sony

TOKYO — Sony reported a 37.1 billion yen first-quarter net loss on Thursday, and maintained its forecast for a second year of losses as the global economic slump continued to weigh on its bottom line.
Though the shortfall — the equivalent of $388 million — was less than some analysts had expected, the continued losses increased the pressure on Howard Stringer, Sony’s chairman, chief executive and president, to step up his turnaround effort. He was appointed four years ago to resuscitate the struggling company.
Mr. Stringer has promised to bring Sony back to profit by streamlining decision-making and more creatively linking the company’s hardware, Web and entertainment businesses. But like other Japanese exporters, Sony has been battered by declining sales as consumers have cut back on purchases of televisions and other personal technology.
The strong yen, which erodes overseas earnings and inflates production costs at home, has also hurt Sony, which earns three-quarters of its revenue outside Japan.
Sony’s troubles were reflected at its rival Nintendo, which reported a 61 percent drop in net profit on Thursday as sales of its popular Wii game console declined. Net income fell to 42.3 billion yen in the three months that ended June 30, Nintendo said. Should Sony give it up?.