(Associated Press via NewsEdge) Sony's profit plunged 94% for the July-September quarter as a global battery recall and red ink in its video-game business hurt the Japanese electronics and entertainment company.
Sony 's group net profit for the fiscal second quarter totaled 1.7 billion yen ($14 million), dwindling from 28.5 billion yen the same period the previous year, the Tokyo-based manufacturer said.
An extra cost of 51 billion yen ($429 million) related to a global recall of 9.6 million Sony laptop batteries was a major factor behind the sharp drop in profit.
Almost every major laptop maker in the world, including Dell Inc., Apple Computer Inc. and Lenovo, has announced recalls of Sony lithium-ion batteries that could overheat and burst into flames.
The recall, which has tarnished Sony's brand image as a longtime maker of icon products such as the Walkman portable player and PlayStation video game machine, offset the lift Sony's books got from an 8 % rise in July-September sales to 1.85 trillion yen ($15.6 billion) from 1.7 trillion yen a year earlier.
Sony reported a 43.5 billion yen ($366 million) operating loss in its gaming division because of charges related to the preparation for the next-generation PlayStation 3 console, set to go on sale in the US and Japan next month.
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