TOKYO: Japan's Sony Corp. said on Wednesday its operating profit plunged 90 percent in the second quarter of the financial year, hit by a surging yen, a weak global economy and intense price competition.

Operating profit dropped to 11.0 billion yen (113 million dollars) in the three months through September, down from 111.6 billion in the same period of the previous year, a company statement said.

Net profit plunged 72 percent to 20.8 billion yen as revenue dropped 0.5 percent to 2.07 trillion yen.

The figures were in line with preliminary results given by the group last week when it also slashed its full-year earnings forecasts.

The steep fall was partly due to a slump in the Japanese stock market, which hit Sony's financial services business. The year-earlier figure was also inflated by the sale of a portion of the site of Sony's former headquarters.

Sony chairman Howard Stringer said this week that the electronics giant was keeping up its long-term global ambitions despite taking a "very, very strong" hit in the global financial crisis.

Sony kept its forecast for a net profit of 150 billion yen for the full financial year to March, down 59 percent from the previous year. Revenue is expected to edge up 1.5 percent to 9.0 trillion yen.


- AFP/so