Reuters: Technology News: Moody's cuts Sony rating to one notch above junk

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Moody's cuts Sony rating to one notch above junk Nov 9th 2012, 09:09 Tweet Share this Email Print Related News Sharp's stock falls, credit downgraded as worries mount Fri, Nov 2 2012 Sharp fears for future as Japan TV makers bleed Thu, Nov 1 2012 Sony posts small second-quarter profit, keeps full-year forecast Thu, Nov 1 2012 Panasonic cleans house with writedowns, sees $9.6 billion loss Thu, Nov 1 2012 Changing channels; Sony, Sharp in turnaround battle Wed, Oct 31 2012 Analysis & Opinion QE-lenient world gives Vietnam financial pardon The downgrade grinder continues at Moody’s Sony Corp's logo is pictured on a Walkman speaker displayed at an electronics store in Tokyo October 24, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Yuriko Nakao TOKYO | Fri Nov 9, 2012 4:09am EST TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp's long-term debt rating was lowered one notch by Moody's Investor Service to the lowest investment grade level because of shrinking demand for its consumer electronics. The downgrade to Baa3 from Baa2 follows a one-notch cut by Moody's in October, which also said its outlook on the firm remained negative. Another cut would lower its rating to junk, forcing some funds to offload its debt and curtailing the company's ability to raise money in credit markets. "Without robust restructuring in the coming 12-18 months, Sony's non-financial services businesses will at best achieve roughly break even, and are also at risk of remaining unprofitable," the rating agency said in a report. Sony, in the quarter ended Sept 30, posted a small operating profit, after a loss a year ago, helped by the sale of a chemicals business that offset weak demand for its TVs. The company is also mulling the sale of its New York headquarters, which would also provide a boost to income. The company maintained its profit outlook for the full business year, but expects to sell fewer of its hand-held PSP and Vita consoles. It also trimmed forecasts for sales of TVs and compact digital cameras. In the past several months Sony has spent $1.8 billion to buy companies ranging from medical equipment to cloud gaming. Shares in Sony, valued at less than $12 billion, have dropped around two-fifths since the start of the year. Its stock fell 0.9 percent to 879 yen on Friday. (Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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