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Sony's Credit Rated At "Junk" Status Due to Falling TV, PC Sales
posted on by Lynzee Loveridge
The credit rating score company Moody's Japan K.K (Japanese division) cut Sony's credit rating to "junk status" on Monday. A junk status is attributed when a company's bonds are deemed below investment grade and have a high-risk of default. The bonds are considered high-risk for investors. Sony's adjusted debt-to-capitalization ratio is 52 percent and has earned negative profits for the last four years. The company last turned a profit at the end of the March 31, 2013 fiscal year.
Japan K.K. senior credit officer Maki Hanatate wrote the following in Sony's credit report, "Of primary concern are the challenges facing the company's TV and PC businesses, both of which face intense global competition, rapid changes in technology, and product obsolescence. The primary reason is intense competition and the shrinkage in demand, the result in turn of cannibalization caused by the rapid penetration of smartphones.” Hanatate believes that Sony's profitability is likely to remain both weak and volatile.
The company noted that Sony Music and Sony Pictures remain profitable. As a result of the report, Sony's stock dropped 4.6 percent on Monday.
Source: Forbes
