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Earnings Calls: 
Sony First Quarter Earnings Call
Author: Elena Todorova
123jump.com
Last Update: 8:37 AM EDT September 24 2007

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The games-and-electronics producer and financial services provider said its first-quarter profit more than doubled on a weaker yen and higher sales of LCD televisions. The electronics and the financial services segments drove the increase in operating profit. Consolidated operating income increased to 99.3 billion yen from 27 billion yen a year ago. Consolidated sales rose 13% due to the large increase of sales of all segments. Full-year profit forecast of 320 billion yen remains unchanged.


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Nobuyuki Oneda: The pricing of LCD television is of course one of our concerns for the rest of the fiscal year. We will sell close to the 10 million LCD televisions within this fiscal year. And, if our projection of the pricing is deteriorating more than 5%, average basis for the annual basis, then it could affect the $500 million, so that’s one of the reasons why we have to be cautious about the profitability of the TV business. For example, this quarter, in Europe, our price deterioration, was from 5% to10% bigger than we expected. If that situation would continue global basis, that impact is so huge, that’s one of the reasons why we are taking some cautious stance of this fiscal year.

The game business is another concern, due to the bigger services expected from now on and we have so many new plans and sales starting from now. For example, we recently reduced the Play Station 3 from $599 to $499, and we also reduced to $599 with the 80-G products and with bundling of the software. Same type of promotion would be made in Europe. For example, 60G model we will bundle the two softwares and possibly the two controllers with the 599 Euro. Those are the new promotion programs, which started very recently, so we have to very carefully watch for those results. That’s why we have to be a little more, cautious about those situations.

Unidentified Analyst: So, if I can just clarify, in the area of the LCD your cautiousness is on profitability, rather than sales?

Nobuyuki Oneda: The cautiousness is primarily because of the profitability.

Unidentified Analyst: And on the production shipments, what might be the comparisons, versus previous quarters?

Nobuyuki Oneda: Starting from this quarter, we decided not to disclose the production quantity, but it is obviously higher than what we sold this quarter, because the selling season is November and December time-frame, but the production capacity is not huge enough to produce the huge quantity in the November and December period. So we have to increase the inventory starting from now on, so the inventory level is a little higher.

C. J. Muse (Lehman Brothers): I have a few questions that are specific to your LCD TV. Can you help us with what the mix of the sales look like by size in the June quarter? What are your expectations for the second half? In terms of inventory, can you give us an update as to where you stand today, as well as your view for the industry and whether or not the excess 40 inch inventory has improved at all?

Nobuyuki Oneda: We did not disclose the inch break by quota basis, but overall in the quantity for the past quarter and second quarter, I would say that the second quarter quantity is higher than the first quarter, and the 40 inch inventory situation would be improved.

C. J. Muse (Lehman Brothers): Are you comfortable with where your inventory is today? How does it compare to where you were a year ago at this time, and what your expectations are for your inventory going forward?

Nobuyuki Oneda: I think that our inventory level is reasonable level at this moment.
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