Sony Corp has a 3-year plan to increase operating profit 25-fold by placing more focus on its most successful businesses, including the video game and entertainment sectors.
In a Tokyo news conference on Wednesday, CEO Kazuo Hirai has stated that the company may consider putting its T.V. business up for auction while giving its more profitable subsidiaries more autonomy to make decisions. Hirai said that the aim of the company now is to deliver an operating profit of ¥500 billion by fiscal 2017.
“The situation continues to be tough, but based on what we have done in the past three years, we will become a high-revenue firm that inspires customers with our products,” he said.
The focus now will be on the video game and entertainment business, specifically PlayStation products, as well as devices, though the Japanese company will also be looking at strengthening partnerships and making acquisitions. Sony may even consider backing out of the mobile sector after being faced with tough competition from the likes of Apple.
Sony’s T.V. and smartphone products haven’t performed well, though sales of PlayStation products, including the PS4, and camera image sensors have been strong. Hirai also said that self-parking cars and operations such as T.V. programming were also areas where he could see growth.
Sony predicts a loss of 170 billion yen ($1.4 billion) in the latest fiscal year which ends in March.
Sources: The Japan Times, Reuters.