Sony Earnings And Prospects Still Dismal, Time To Break It Up

Sony (NYSE: SNE) said that its numbers for the fiscal year ending on March 31 were better than last year. They were, but only marginally. And, in several key segments of its business, the figures are hardly better at all. The numbers show that Sony is not one company, but three.

For the year, Sony revenue dropped from 7.214 trillion yen from 7. 730 trillion yen. The company had an operating profit of 31.8 billion yen versus a loss of 227.8 billion yen a year earlier. Some of that loss was due to restructuring and most of the improvement was due to lower costs.

Numbers in the consumer products division which is mostly sales of LCDs, shows a drop in revenue from 4.031 billion yen to 3.227 billion. Operating loss was 46 billion yen compared to 115 billion the year before. Sony’s sales in its largest division are still falling.

The division that includes PCs and the PlayStation line reported a drop from 1.775 billion yen to 1,575 billion. Operating loss in the group was 83 billion yen compared to 87 billion in the same period last year. Sony is still losing ground to the major PC companies and in the game console business to Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Nintendo.

The company’s motion picture operation was one of the bright spots. Revenue dropped slightly to 705 billion yen to 717 billion. The segment made 43 million yen up from 30 million, another benefit of cost cuts. Revenue in the company’s music business was up 35% to 523 billion yen.

Oddly enough, the most successful unit within Sony is hardly a core part of its entertainment and hardware operations. The firm’s finance unit posted a revenue increase of 58% to 851 billion yen and swung from a loss to a profit of 162 million yen. Looked at another way, financial services carried the company’s earnings.

Sony is still a shrinking company, beset by competition from other major studios and, in its electronic divisions, more successful companies like Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Nintendo. It is still hard to understand why the company does not break itself into three companies–financial services, studios, and hardware. Investors might do well holding stock in two of those units and Sony would be left to turn one around

The stewardship of Sir Howard Stringer is still a failure. Any improvement in the firm’s prospects is still hallow companies to the firm’s position a decade ago.