Sony cut to junk at Moody’s
1 min read 27 Jan 2014, 01:57 PM ISTMoody's cited challenges facing Sony's television and PC units as the reasons behind the downgrade
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Tokyo: Sony Corp. had its credit rating cut to junk at Moody’s Investors Service, which cited challenges facing its television and personal-computer (PC) units.
The rating was lowered to Ba1, one level below investment grade, from Baa3, Moody’s said in an e-mailed statement on Monday. The outlook is stable, it said.
Sony is battling shrinking demand for TVs and PCs as consumers switch to mobile devices produced by Apple Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. The Tokyo-based company posted a surprise loss in the September quarter and chief executive officer Kazuo Hirai is trying to turnaround earnings by wringing benefits out of the company’s holdings from consumer electronics to mobile phones and entertainment.
Sony’s profitability is likely to remain weak and volatile, Moody’s said in the statement. “We expect the majority of its core consumer electronics businesses—such as TVs, mobile, digital cameras and personal computers—to continue to face significant downward earnings pressure." Bloomberg
