Japan's Sony Corp warned it doesn't now expect to make money on smartphones this year, citing weak demand, as the consumer electronics maker said restructuring will still help it turn a profit on its TVs after 10 years of losses.As it said April-June operating profit doubled, boosted by its videogames business and a one-off asset sale, Sony on Thursday cut its smartphone sales target this fiscal year by 14 percent. Sony now expects to just break even in the business this year, down from a previous operating forecast of 26 billion yen ($253 million), and is reviewing its mid-term strategy.Analysts had said the initial smartphone sales target was too ambitious amid stiff competition from Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd at the top end of the market, and cheaper Asian electronics firms at the bottom. Samsung Electronics also flagged its own uncertain handset earnings prospects on Thursday, undercut by Chinese rivals like Xiaomi, while Sony said progress by Chinese smartphone makers was a factor in its own sales shortfall."It is possible the (smartphone strategy) review might result in an impairment charge against various assets in the mobile communications segment," said Sony's newly installed chief financial officer Kenichiro Yoshida. Despite the first-quarter surge, he said Sony would stick to fiscal year forecasts of a 140 billion yen operating profit and a 50 billion yen net loss - the company's second straight year in the red.
Apple Inc. (Apple) designs, manufactures and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players, and a variety of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications. Shares of AAPL fell by 0.23% or $-0.23/share to $98.15. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $63.89 and as high as $99.44. On average, 58335100 shares of AAPL exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 33024168.
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