Sony £80m in the red as sales slide

SLUMPING sales of computer chips and electronics components sent Sony tumbling 13.8bn yen (£80m) into the red in the half-year to end-September, from a pre-tax profit of nearly 114bn yen a year earlier.

The Japanese electronics giant was also hit in the second quarter by falling consumer sales and the 11 September terrorist attacks on the US.

In the three months to end-September, the group made a net loss of 13.2bn yen, against a profit of 18.7bn yen in the same period last year.

Due to a weakening in the yen, sales in local currency terms rose 5.7% to 1.8 trillion yen over the second quarter, but soaring costs turned the previous year's operating profit of 53bn yen into a 3bn yen loss.

'Decreased demand and severe price competition became more prevalent, reflecting further economic slowdowns in all major regions,' said Sony president Kunitake Ando.

Sales in US dollar terms fell 2% but were underpinned by a better performance from its PlayStation 2 games console and high-earning movies such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.