Sony Corporation – Company Overview
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| Company | Sony Corporation |
| Headquarters | 1-7-1 Konan, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-0075, Japan |
| CEO | Kazuo Hirai |
| CFO | Kenichiro Yoshida |
| Industry | Conglomerate |
| Type | Public (Kabushiki Gaisha) |
| Founded | May 7, 1946 |
| Stock symbol | TYO: 6758; NYSE:SNE |
| Net Sales | ¥7,035,537 million YEN (2015) |
| Operating income | ¥68,548 million YEN (2015) |
| Net loss | ¥(49,004) million YEN (2015) |
| Employees | 131,700 (2015) |
| Website | http://www.sony.net |
| IR contact number | +81-3-6748-2111 |
Sony Corporation, more commonly referred to as simply Sony, is a Japanese conglomerate that focuses on electronics, entertainment and financial services sectors.
The company is among one of the world’s largest producers of electronic products.
The history of the company stems back to Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K. (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation), also known as Totsuko, which was established in Nihonbashi, Tokyo, in 1946.
By 1955 Totsuko products used the SONY logo on their products.
The name of the company was officially changed to Sony Corporation in 1958 – the same year the it was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE).
Sony’s business operations are divided into different segments, such as: Sony Corporation (Sony Electronics in the U.S.), Sony Computer Entertainment, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Mobile Communications (formerly Sony Ericsson), Sony Music Entertainment, and Sony Financial.
Sony Corporation – Products and Services
The company’s main products and services are:
Electronics business unit: televisions (LCD televisions), digital imaging (video cameras, digital still cameras, etc.), audio/video (blu-ray Disc players/recorders, DVD players, home audio, car audio, etc.), PCs and other networked products, Semiconductors (image sensors and other semiconductors), electronic components (batteries, audio/video/data recording media and data recording systems), professional solutions (broadcast and professional-use equipment), and medical-related equipment.
Sony Mobile Communications AB: mobile phones and smartphones.
Sony Computer Entertainment: the PlayStation video game consoles (such as the PSP and Playstation 4).
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. (SPE): film production/distribution.
Sony Corporation – Financial Results
| Key figures (in millions of YEN) | 2015* | 2014* |
| Net sales | ¥7,035,537 | ¥6,628,274 |
| Operating income | ¥68,548 | ¥26,495 |
| Income before taxes | ¥39,729 | ¥25,741 |
| Net loss | ¥(49,004) | ¥(68,841) |
| Total assets | ¥15,333,720 | ¥15,834,331 |
| Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year | ¥1,046,466 | ¥826,361 |
| Cash and cash equivalents at end of period | ¥949,413 | ¥1,046,466 |
*For the years ended March 31, 2015 and 2014
Source: “Sony Corporation – 2015 Form 20-F”
News about Sony Corporation reported by our Market Business News team
March 23, 2016: Sony announces closure of Cheshire-based Evolution Studios
March 16, 2016: Sony’s PlayStation VR headset will cost $399 (£282), half the price of the HTC Vive
December 20, 2015: Sony working on new lithium-sulfur batteries with 40% more capacity