Sony sees less red ink, postpones outlook because of quake

TOKYO – Sony Corp. says it posted an 88.4 billion yen ($818 million) loss in January-March, a smaller flow of red ink than a year earlier.

The Japanese electronics and entertainment company postponed giving its annual outlook until May, citing damage from major earthquakes in southwestern Japan earlier this month.

The quakes shut down Sony Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp.'s Kumamoto Technology Center, which makes image sensors and other devices, Sony said Thursday.

Quarterly sales in January-March slipped nearly 6 percent from a year earlier to 1.8 trillion yen ($16.9 billion). The company racked up a 106.8 billion yen loss in the same period a year earlier.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, Sony posted a 147.8 billion yen ($1.4 billion) profit, a reversal from 126 billion yen in losses the year before.