Sony Stock Slides 7 Percent on Loss Forecast

The morning after Sony said it expects to report its first net loss in 14 years, shares in the consumer electronics company slid 7 percent.

At the end of the morning session Friday at the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Sony shares stood at ¥1,794, a one-month low for the stock.

On Thursday Sony slashed its financial outlook for the current year, which runs until March this year. It said sales are now expected to be ¥7.7 trillion (US$86 billion), a 14 percent cut from its previous forecast of ¥9 trillion, and net income will drop from an expected profit of ¥150 billion to a loss of the same amount.

Sony is a major exporter and has been hit by recession in many of its most important markets, a tightening of consumer credit and the appreciation of the Japanese yen, which makes its products more expensive overseas and reduces the value of profits made overseas when they are brought back to Japan.