Battery Recall Wipes Out Sony’s Profits for Latest Quarter

Just in case you were wondering who was on the hook for most of the costs associated with Apple and Dell’s recalls of Sony-manufactured batteries, it was Sony:

The company reported today that it earned a net profit of 1.7 billion yen ($14.4 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30, the second quarter of its fiscal year. That was a 94 percent decline from the comparable period a year earlier, despite sales that were 8.3 percent higher at 1.9 trillion yen ($16 billion).

The company took a charge of 51 billion yen ($430 million) for the quarter, mostly related to the battery problem — an amount far higher than analysts initially expected.

★ Thursday, 26 October 2006