q2-2009
Latest
PS3 has lost Sony $4.7 billion, may be profitable next year
First the bad news: Sony's recently released FY Q2 2009 financial report included some pretty upsetting figures for investors to witness -- namely, that the company's "Networked Products and Services" division, which includes video game hardware and software sales, reported a ¥58.8 billion (or $654 million) operating loss during the quarter. The drop off was attributed to "a decrease in PS2 hardware and software unit sales, and the impact of the appreciation of the yen." Indeed, the PS2 took a hit this quarter to the tune of 600,000 units year-over year. Now, the worse news: The financial report included enough data for various GAFers and VG247ers to slap a number on the amount of money that the PS3 has lost Sony: $4.695 billion. Sure, that number seems outrageously high -- because, well, it is -- but it's hardly an apocalyptic loss. Actually, it's reminiscent of losses incurred by Microsoft with the release of the original Xbox, which drained the company of $4.202 billion over a similar four-year period. Finally, the good news: Shortly after the financial report was published, Sony CFO Nobuyuki Oneda claimed the PS3 was getting cheaper to produce, stating, "the difference between sales and materials cost has been reduced to between 10 and 20%. Within the year, it could be in the single digits." He later added, "we'll be able to reach profitability at some point in the next term." Considering PS3 sales jumped 800,000 year-over-year with the launch of the Slim, we've got a bit of advice to aid in this endeavor: Keep making it skinnier.
Sprint loses $384m, 257k subscribers in first quarter of Pre availability
The Pre might have slowed the drain at Sprint but it hasn't managed to turn things around completely -- America's number three carrier posted a second-quarter loss of $384m as it lost another 257,000 subscribers. That just continues Sprint's trend of bleeding customers to the competition, and we doubt this balance sheet will turn around anytime soon -- not only will next quarter reflect the $483m purchase of Virgin Mobile USA, it's pretty clear that Verizon will get the Pre and AT&T will carry another webOS handset, leaving Mr. Hesse and crew without their shiny halo device to lure new subs to the fold. We'll see what Sprint does to turn this all around -- did someone say they need a Hero?
Apple reports best ever March quarter with a $1.21b profit, calls netbooks "junky"
The economy might be in a dumpster, but Apple keeps selling iPods, iPhones and Macs -- the company just reported a $1.21b profit on revenues of $8.16b, which is yet another record quarter. In fact, if you do away with that pesky subscription accounting that the company uses for the iPhone and Apple TV, the numbers are even higher: $1.66b profit on $9.06b of revenue. Mac sales did fall three percent compared to a year ago, but that was offset by a three-percent increase in iPod sales (particularly of the iPod touch) and a 123-percent jump in iPhone sales. So, now that the numbers are out of the way, let's let Tim Cook take some shots at netbooks, shall we? When I'm looking at what's sold in the Netbook market, I see cramped keyboards, junky hardware, very small screens, bad software. Not a consumer experience that we would put the Mac brand on. As it exists today, we're not interested in it nor would it be something customers would be interested in the long term. We are looking at the space. For those who want a small computer that does browsing/email, they might want an iPhone or iPod Touch. If we find a way to deliver an innovative product that really makes a contribution, we'll do that. Slamming the door while simultaneously leaving it open -- how very Jobs-like. Speaking of which, Cook wouldn't say anything beyond the usual "We look forward to Steve's return in June" line, so no updates there -- but were you really expecting any? We're still listening to the call, we'll update if we hear anything good.Update 1: When asked about the Pre, Cook said "it's difficult to say anything about a product until it's shipped... I can't say anything intelligent about the Pre."Update 2: When asked about taking legal action on IP (presumably about the Pre), we just got a straight-up repeat of what they said last time: "We think competition is great as long as they invent their own stuff."Annnd, that's it -- we'd say the real fireworks are the numbers, since we'd already heard this line about netbooks from Steve himself. We just wish someone would've asked if Apple's reached out to Lauren and Giampaulo.[Via MacRumors]
