Sales and operating revenue of the company, however, increased to 1.52 trillion yen in the April-June quarter from 1.50 trillion yen in the comparable period a year ago, owing to a significant increase in sales in the mobile products and communications segment, the company said in a statement.
Sony has lowered its earnings forecast for fiscal year ending March 31, and targets a net income of 20 billion yen, from the 30 billion yen projected in May amid "deceleration of the economy" and "updated foreign exchange rate".
Net income is expected to be 10 billion yen below the May forecast, "mainly due to the lower income before income taxes and applying the latest effective tax rate forecast, which continues to exceed the Japanese statutory rate as Sony records valuation allowances for certain tax filing groups and subsidiaries," the maker of PlayStation game machines said.
Sony had posted a net loss of 456.7 billion yen in the year ended March 31, 2012 -- reportedly its fourth straight year of losses and the biggest loss in the 66-year history.
While sales in the home entertainment and sound segment decreased significantly, primarily due to a decrease in LCD television unit sales in Japan, North America and Europe.
Sony, which was once perceived as a stellar brand symbolising Japan's technological prowess, has lost some of its shine. It is facing stiff competition from South Korea's Samsung Electronics and US-based Apple Inc in devices such as the iPhone and iPod.
In the pictures division, Sony's sales increased 6.2 per cent year-on-year to 153.4 billion yen driven by higher theatrical revenues from films such as "Men in Black 3" and higher US made-for-cable and network programming revenues.
However, these profits were partially offset by lower advertising revenues from Sony's television networks in India, the company said.
The company, however, suffered an operating loss of 4.9 billion yen compared to operating income of 4.3 billion yen in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year primarily due to higher marketing expenses for films including "The Amazing Spider-Man", the company said.
