TOKYO: Bolstered by investors' faith in its restructuring, Sony Corp is set to announce a new strategy highlighting the potential of its image sensors, PlayStation and entertainment businesses to help it return to growth after years of losses.
Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai is due to detail his multi-year plan for Sony from around 0600 GMT on Wednesday.
Sony shares have risen over 80 percent over the past year as investors applauded the restructuring, which accelerated since Hirai appointed Kenichiro Yoshida as his chief strategy officer in late 2013.
Both executives have been honing Sony's focus on niche markets where sales have been strong, such as the PlayStation videogame network and the camera image sensors, while cutting back on loss-making products including TVs and smartphones.
As well as plans to further grow these units, investors are hoping to hear more details on how Sony intends to cut losses in smartphones, a business that has struggled to compete with cheaper Chinese rivals.
Yoshida, who also became chief financial officer last April, said this month there were no "sacred" businesses. Some investors and analysts are speculating Sony may gradually exit from mobile phones if sales continue to fall. Sony has already spun off its TV operations and announced thousands of job cuts.
Earlier this month, Sony forecast an operating profit instead of a loss for the financial year ending March 31. But it still expects to book its sixth net loss in seven years in 2014/15, albeit a smaller amount than previously estimated.
Sony has struggled to emulate the success of Apple Inc's iTunes platform and recently said it was ending its own Music Unlimited service, offering clients Spotify instead. Analyst say the challenge may be in stepping up such efforts while keeping costs under check.
Sony's strategy revamp comes amid cut-throat competition from cheaper Asian rivals and industry leaders like Apple and Samsung Electronics, squeezing some of its Japanese peers into losses and restructurings.
While Panasonic's shifting focus on automobile-related technology and quirky household appliances has helped it bounce back, Sharp Corp remains mired in losses with its concentration on display panels now working against it amid pricing pressure in the smartphone industry.
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