Sony Sees Game Unit Loss of More Than $400 Million

According to Reuters:
TOKYO--Sony, which forecast a six-fold surge in group profit this year, expects its PlayStation game unit will remain in the red as it faces tough competition from Nintendo and Microsoft.
Sony said Thursday it estimates its game unit will post an operating loss of about 50 billion yen ($413.9 million) in the business year to next March. However, the forecast is an improvement from the 232 billion yen loss the game unit posted for 2006/7, when it booked huge costs to launch its new PlayStation 3 video game console.
The Japanese electronics and entertainment giant also said it expects sales at its main electronics unit to rise 4 percent to 6 percent in 2007/8 from a year earlier.
Sony on Wednesday posted a wider quarterly loss due to deficits in its PlayStation game unit, but forecast a sharp rise in profit this year as it sees a fast recovery in its core electronics business led by strong flat-panel TV sales.
The company forecast an operating profit of 440 billion yen for the year to March 2008.
The estimate beats the consensus of 377.8 billion yen in a poll of 20 analysts by Reuters Estimates, though it includes a 59 billion yen profit from a sale of land not likely reflected in the consensus.