GameRevolution » News »

GAMING NEWS

Sony's Credit Rating Drops To 'BBB+'

Posted on Wednesday, February 8 @ 16:00:27 Eastern by



Standard & Poor's Ratings Service has lowered Sony's long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings to 'BBB+' from 'A-'. (What? Can't fit in any more B's in there?)

The rating service's decision is based on its pessimistic outlook of Sony's possible recovery and improvement in their electronics sales, citing that Sony's TV business has been in the red since fiscal year 2004. They have even threatened a lower credit rating if they don't see a "meaningful sign of a recovery in Sony's earnings within six to 12 months".

Most concerning for them is Sony's aggressive expansion "despite strong competition, a massive erosion of prices, and its high cost structure compared with overseas competitors", particularly "Korean manufacturers and emerging Chinese companies".

Hopefully, Sony's US launch of the PS Vita this month will help steer the company's profits into the right direction, though S&P is primarily focused on the company's TV sales: "We may consider lowering the ratings on Sony if we see a likelihood of weak performance in the TV business leading to another net loss in fiscal 2012."
Tags:   Sony


More from the Game Revolution Network


POST A COMMENTComments
  • dirty_f
    dirty_f - Joined: Nov 1, 2010
    Sleep mode deactivated. Booting wake-up drive. Brain functionality temporarily at a minimum. Full understanding of any part of this article not achieved. Failure to comprehend, must reactivate sleep mode.
    0 0Like or Dislike?
    Posted: Feb 8th, 2012 at 4:13 pm
  • Nick_Tan
    Nick_Tan - Joined: Jul 22, 2006
    Heh, I expected that. It just means that confidence in Sony has fallen in the business world.
    0 0Like or Dislike?
    Posted: Feb 8th, 2012 at 8:49 pm
  • De-Ting
    De-Ting - Joined: Nov 11, 2006
    Excuse me, shouldn't that be "B+++"?
    0 0Like or Dislike?
    Posted: Feb 8th, 2012 at 4:16 pm
  • OdiousLupous
    OdiousLupous - Joined: Jul 14, 2011
    Somewhere Nintendo is laughing so hard they just might throwup.
    1 1Like or Dislike?
    Posted: Feb 8th, 2012 at 4:16 pm
  • Dolive90
    Dolive90 - Joined: Oct 3, 2011
    i have been a massive fan of Sony gaming systems since i had a PS1 bought for me for my 8th Xmas pressie and have been a loyal fan since, i would hate to see credit ratings like this affect their gaming fan base . Hopefully the new naughty dog production will serve Sony as a 'crash bandicoot-esque' release to help them recover lost market share so that they will be able to continue work on a PS4 system that is powerful enough to allow them to be able to accommodate first class releases for years to come
    0 1Like or Dislike?
    Posted: Feb 8th, 2012 at 5:07 pm
  • dirty_f
    dirty_f - Joined: Nov 1, 2010
    being a PlayStation fan myself, i couldnt care less what credit ratings they get, it doesn't affect my opinion of them in the slightest. the trouble is if it's going to affect any sort of funding or backing and less and less games get put out for it, or it goes the way of Sega systems (very unlikely imo).
    i'm pretty sure Sony will survive.
    0 0Like or Dislike?
    Posted: Feb 9th, 2012 at 2:58 am
  • Heath_Hindman
    Heath_Hindman - Joined: May 25, 2011
    Am I invited to their BBBQ? The one where the extra B is for BYOBB?
    0 2Like or Dislike?
    Posted: Feb 8th, 2012 at 6:28 pm
  • wildmario
    wildmario - Joined: Jan 17, 2007
    Maybe this will be a wake up call for Sony to get their act together
    0 1Like or Dislike?
    Posted: Feb 8th, 2012 at 6:50 pm
  • xxmrcyanidexx
    xxmrcyanidexx - Joined: May 24, 2011
    Yeah and S&P rated Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac AAA+ days before the economic collapse. Their ratings are crap.
    0 0Like or Dislike?
    Posted: Feb 9th, 2012 at 8:32 am

Post a Comment
LOGIN or REGISTER to post a comment or rate this article.