Sony to miss TV sales goal target

Sony on December 20 said it may fall short of its sales goal of 25 million liquid crystal display TV sets this fiscal year as it struggles to be profitable in the sector, Dow Jones Newswires reported. The Japanese electronics giant had previously said its LCD TV sales target for the year ending March 31 could be difficult to achieve because of weak sales in North America.
However, Hiroshi Yoshioka, President of Sony's consumer products and devices group, which oversees the TV unit, also told reporters the company is targeting an increase in television sales next year, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
"In order for us to get a profit, we have to increase the numbers of TVs sold," Yoshioka said. Sony has failed to maintain profitability in its TV unit following the shift in the industry from cathode-ray tube technology to flat LCD displays.
The unit has lost money for six years in a row, and, despite many pledges over that period to return the unit to the black, is expected to be in the red again this fiscal year.
The hugely competitive sector is a challenge for many makers given that customers are increasingly accustomed to declining prices, making it difficult for the industry to generate profits.
Sony has looked to diversify its range with a push into 3D TV and also Internet-enabled high-definition LCD sets featuring search giant Google's TV service, merging online content with traditional television programming.
The Japanese entertainment giant does not produce LCD panels, instead relying on external sources such as its joint production venture with Sharp. On December 20 Yoshioka denied recent reports that Sony has scrapped a plan to raise its stake in a joint venture with Sharp manufacturing LCD panels because of a tough business environment, Dow Jones Newswires said.
Sony had planned to boost its stake in Sharp's LCD factory in Sakai, western Japan, from the current seven percent to 34 percent by April next year so that it could be fully involved in the venture's management.
But Japanese media last month reported that it abandoned the plan in the face of a strong yen and a slowdown in sales of television sets world-wide. Sharp is a pioneer of LCD screens, having launched one of the world's first LCD pocket calculators in 1973.