Form 6-K
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D. C. 20549
FORM 6-K
REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER
Pursuant to Rule 13a-16 or 15d-16 of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
For the month of April 2007
Commission File Number: 001-06439
SONY CORPORATION
(Translation of registrant's name into English)
1-7-1 KONAN, MINATO-KU, TOKYO, 108-0075, JAPAN
(Address of principal executive offices)
The registrant files annual reports under cover of Form 20-F.
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports
under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F,
Form 20-F X Form 40-F __
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information
contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the
Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
Yes No X
If "Yes" is marked, indicate below the file number assigned to the registrant in
connection with Rule 12g3-2(b):82-______
SIGNATURE
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the
registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the
undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
SONY CORPORATION
(Registrant)
By: /s/ Nobuyuki Oneda
(Signature)
Nobuyuki Oneda
Executive Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer
Date: April 20, 2007
List of materials
Documents attached hereto:
i) Press release announcing Sony Ericsson Q1 Results
Sony Ericsson
PRESS RELEASE April 20, 2007
Sony Ericsson starts 2007 with strong first quarter
Q1 Highlights:
. Year-on-year volume & sales growth of 63% and 47% respectively
. Income before tax rose 139% year-on-year to EUR362 million
. W880 further strengthens Walkman(R) phone sales
. Low and mid-tier products generating market share gains year-on-year
The consolidated financial summary for Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB
(Sony Ericsson) for the first quarter ended March 31, 2007 is as follows:
Q1 2006 Q4 2006 Q1 2007
_______ _______ _______
Number of Units shipped (million) 13.3 26.0 21.8
Sales (Euro m.) 1,992 3,782 2,925
Gross Margin % 26.3% 29.0% 30.3%
Operating Income (Euro m.) 143 484 346
Operating Margin % 7.2% 12.8% 11.8%
Income Before Taxes (Euro m.) 151 502 362
Net income (Euro m.) 109 447 254
Average Sales Price (Euro) 149 146 134
Beginning this quarter Sony Ericsson is expanding its financial disclosure. More
information can be found at the end of this report. This decision was made as a
result of the company's continuing growth and in consultation with the parent
companies.
Units shipped in the quarter reached 21.8 million, a 63% increase compared to
the same period last year, generating significant year-on-year market share
gains and continuing the momentum of 2006. Sales for the quarter were Euro 2,925
million, representing a year-on-year increase of 47%. Income before taxes for
the quarter was Euro 362 million representing a year-on-year increase of 139%.
Net income for the quarter was Euro 254 million. ASP decreased to Euro 134 as we
continue to expand our product portfolio successfully with mid-tier and with
more competitively priced phones.
"Sony Ericsson has made a very positive start to the year selling 63% more
phones in the first quarter than a year ago. The strong sales and solid
financial performance demonstrate a continuation of the momentum we established
last year," said Miles Flint, President of Sony Ericsson. "We have announced a
number of exciting new products during the quarter many of which are already
shipping and have been well received by consumers. The company continues to
develop hit model products with a clear consumer proposition that appeals to
operators, and then rapidly ramp-up volume to meet market demand," he added.
Sony Ericsson continued to build on the success of 2006 with strong growth in
Asia Pacific, Latin America and Europe. The company captured market share in
these markets through low and mid-tier products such as the W300 and W200
Walkman(R) phones and the K310 camera phone without undermining profitability.
Margins improved year-on-year despite the increased proportion of mid and low
tier products in the line-up illustrating management's focus on controlling cost
and maintaining margins while expanding Sony Ericsson's appeal to a wider
market.
Sony Ericsson also announced a number of attractive new products during the
quarter, including two new Cyber-shot(TM) phones, five additional Walkman(R)
models across a variety of price points to further strengthen its unique music
offering, and its first HSDPA handset aimed primarily at the North American
market.
In February in Japan Sony Ericsson started shipping the SO703i, a mobile phone
with selectable Style-Up panels that include a scented sheet to match the
panel's design, for NTT DoCoMo, and the W51S, a new clam-shell phone with
illuminated icons, for au (KDDI). Both phones were well received by consumers.
During the quarter Sony Ericsson made a number of strategic announcements:
Following the rapid growth in sales in the Asia Pacific region, the company
announced plans to start manufacturing phones in India through its global
manufacturing partners, Flextronics and Foxconn.
In February Sony Ericsson announced it had completed the acquisition of the
Swedish software company UIQ Technology AB, and established a separate holding
company, UIQ Holdings, to manage the business.
In March Sony Ericsson signed licensing and development agreements concerning
entry-level GSM, GPRS and EDGE mobile phones with Sagem Communication (SAFRAN
Group). Through this co-operation, Sony Ericsson will be able to strengthen its
position in the entry level area of the market.
Sony Ericsson forecasts that the 2007 global handset market will be above 1.1
billion units. The company believes that in Q1 2007 it grew market share around
2 percentage points compared with the same period last year to over 8%.
Sony Ericsson will make a total payment of Euro 848 million to its parent
companies in 2007 in the form of dividends, or both a dividend and a capital
redemption.
WALKMAN(R) and Cyber-shot(TM) are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sony
Corporation.
Style-Up is a trademark or a registered trademark of Sony Ericsson Mobile
Communications AB.
- ENDS -
EDITOR'S NOTES:
Financial Statements and Additional Information:
Financial Statements:
Consolidated Income Statement
Consolidated Income Statement - Isolated quarters
Consolidated Balance Sheet
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows - Isolated quarters
Additional Information:
Net Sales by Market Area by Quarter
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications serves the global communications market with
innovative and feature-rich mobile phones, accessories and PC-cards. Established
as a joint venture by Sony and Ericsson in 2001, with global corporate functions
located in London, the company employs over 7,500 people worldwide, including R&
D sites in Europe, Japan, China and America. Sony Ericsson celebrated the 5th
anniversary of the start of the joint venture on 1st October, 2006.
Sony Ericsson is the global title sponsor of the Women's Tennis Association, and
works with the Association to promote the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour in over 80
cities during the year. For more information on Sony Ericsson, please visit
www.sonyericsson.com
CONTACTS:
Press/Media
Sony Ericsson Corporate Communications
Aldo Liguori (London) +44 208 762 5860
Merran Wrigley (London) +44 208 762 5862
Investors/Analysts
Ericsson Investor Relations
Gary Pinkham (Stockholm) +46 8 719 0858
Sony Investor Relations
Takao Yuhara (Tokyo) +81 3 6748 2180
Shinji Tomita (London) +44 207 444 9713
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve inherent
risks and uncertainties. We have identified certain important factors that may
cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in such
forward-looking statements. For a detailed description of risk factors see
Sony's and Ericsson's filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission,
particularly each company's latest published Annual Report on Form 20-F.
Sony Ericsson
CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT
Jan-March
______________________
EUR million 2007 2006 Change
_________________________________________________________________
Net sales 2,925 1,992 47%
Cost of sales -2,039 -1,469 39%
______________
Gross margin 886 524 69%
Gross margin % 30.3% 26.3% 4%
Research and development expenses -261 -202 29%
Selling and administrative expenses -284 -186 52%
______________
Operating expenses -545 -388 40%
Other operating income, net 5 7 -30%
______________
Operating income 346 143 142%
Operating margin % 11.8% 7.2% 5%
Financial income 18 9 109%
Financial expenses -2 0 -
______________
Income after financial items 362 151 139%
Taxes -100 -34 193%
Minority interest -9 -9 2%
______________
Net income 254 109 133%
Number of units shipped (million) 21.8 13.3 63%
ASP (EUR) 134 149 -10%
Sony Ericsson
CONSOLIDATED INCOME STATEMENT - ISOLATED QUARTERS
2007 2006
EUR million Q1 Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1
________________________________________________________________________________
Net sales 2,925 3,782 2,913 2,272 1,992
Cost of sales -2,039 -2,686 -1,995 -1,625 -1,469
__________________________________________
Gross margin 886 1,096 917 647 524
Gross margin % 30.3% 29.0% 31.5% 28.5% 26.3%
Research and development expenses -261 -256 -225 -223 -202
Selling and administrative expenses -284 -367 -287 -246 -186
__________________________________________
Operating expenses -545 -623 -511 -470 -388
Other operating income, net 5 10 21 26 7
__________________________________________
Operating income 346 484 427 203 143
Operating margin % 11.8% 12.8% 14.6% 8.9% 7.2%
Financial income 18 19 8 8 9
Financial expenses -2 0 -1 0 0
__________________________________________
Income after financial items 362 502 433 211 151
Taxes -100 -43 -127 -64 -34
Minority interest -9 -12 -8 -5 -9
__________________________________________
Net income 254 447 298 143 109
Number of units shipped (million) 21.8 26.0 19.8 15.7 13.3
ASP (EUR) 134 146 147 145 149
Sony Ericsson
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
Mar 31 Dec 31 Sept 30 Jun 30 Mar 31 Dec 31
EUR million 2007 2006 2006 2006 2006 2005
___________________________________________________________________________
ASSETS
Total fixed and financial 495 469 316 311 306 274
assets
Current assets
Inventories 498 437 578 318 277 306
Accounts receivable 1,566 1,653 1,347 1,101 908 852
Other assets 859 310 249 196 200 178
Other short-term cash 1,376 1,580 1,098 897 861 900
investments
Cash and bank 668 693 763 698 568 637
_________________________________________
Total current assets 4,968 4,673 4,035 3,210 2,813 2,873
___________________________________________________________________________
Total assets 5,463 5,141 4,351 3,521 3,119 3,147
___________________________________________________________________________
SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY AND LIABILITIES
Shareholders' equity 2,033 1,781 1,353 1,048 921 1,070
Minority interest 55 45 37 59 59 46
_________________________________________
Total equity 2,088 1,826 1,391 1,106 980 1,116
Total long-term liabilities 22 20 17 17 17 19
Accounts payable 1,316 1,276 1,118 954 799 807
Other current liabilities 2,037 2,019 1,825 1,444 1,323 1,204
_________________________________________
Total current liabilities 3,353 3,296 2,944 2,398 2,122 2,011
___________________________________________________________________________
Total shareholders' equity and 5,463 5,141 4,351 3,521 3,119 3,147
liabilities
___________________________________________________________________________
Net cash* 2,045 2,272 1,795 1,556 1,417 1,530
* Net cash is defined as cash and bank plus short-term cash investments less
interest bearing provisions and liabilities.
Sony Ericsson
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS
Jan-Mar
______________
EUR million 2007 2006
______________________________________________________________
OPERATIONS
Net income 254 109
Adjustments to reconcile net income to cash 24 20
______________
278 129
Changes in operating net assets * -454 53
______________
Cash flow from operating activities -176 182
INVESTMENTS
Investing activities -49 -43
______________
Cash flow from investing activities -49 -43
FINANCING
Financing activities - 1 - 236
______________
Cash flow from financing activities -1 -236
Net change in cash -226 -97
Cash, beginning of period 2,273 1,537
Translation difference in Cash -2 -12
______________
Cash, end of period 2,045 1,428
______________________________________________________________
* Includes an advanced payment to Ericsson for an amount
equivalent to Ericsson's share of the dividend/redemption.
Sony Ericsson
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS - ISOLATED QUARTERS
Jan-Mar Oct-Dec Jul-Sep Apr-Jun Jan-Mar
__________________________________________
EUR million 2007 2006 2006 2006 2006
_____________________________________________________________________________
OPERATIONS
Net income 254 447 298 143 109
Adjustments to reconcile net 24 23 20 22 20
income to cash __________________________________________
278 470 318 165 129
Changes in operating net assets -454 50 -21 18 53
__________________________________________
Cash flow from operating -176 520 297 183 182
activities
INVESTMENTS
Investing activities -49 -26 -36 -29 -43
__________________________________________
Cash flow from investing -49 -26 -36 -29 -43
activities
FINANCING
Financing activities - 1 - 66 - 2 26 -236
__________________________________________
Cash flow from financing -1 -66 -2 26 -236
activities
Net change in cash -226 428 259 180 -97
Cash, beginning of period 2,273 1,861 1,595 1,428 1,537
Translation difference in Cash -2 -16 7 -13 -12
__________________________________________
Cash, end of period 2,045 2,273 1,861 1,595 1,428
Sony Ericsson
NET SALES BY MARKET AREA BY QUARTER
EUR million
2007 2006
__________________________________________
Isolated quarters Q1 Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1
______________________________________________________________________________
Europe, Middle East & Africa * 1,598 2,145 1,600 1,090 1,029
Americas 365 555 417 328 250
Asia 961 1,082 896 853 713
______________________________________________________________________________
Total 2,925 3,782 2,913 2,272 1,992
______________________________________________________________________________
* of which Western Europe 1,078 1,478 1,115 748 674
2007 2006
__________________________________________
Sequential change (%) Q1 Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1
______________________________________________________________________________
Europe, Middle East & Africa * -26% 34% 47% 6% -27%
Americas -34% 33% 27% 31% -19%
Asia -11% 21% 5% 20% 20%
______________________________________________________________________________
Total -23% 30% 28% 14% -14%
______________________________________________________________________________
* of which Western Europe -27% 33% 49% 11% -35%
2007 2006
__________________________________________
Year over year change (%) Q1 Q4 Q3 Q2 Q1
______________________________________________________________________________
Europe, Middle East & Africa * 55% 52% 35% 43% 71%
Americas 46% 79% 77% 53% 53%
Asia 35% 83% 42% 33% 36%
______________________________________________________________________________
Total 47% 64% 42% 41% 55%
______________________________________________________________________________
* of which Western Europe 60% 45% 33% 42% 84%
2007 2006
__________________________________________
Year to date 0703 0612 0609 0606 0603
______________________________________________________________________________
Europe, Middle East & Africa * 1,598 5,865 3,720 2,120 1,029
Americas 365 1,550 995 578 250
Asia 961 3,544 2,462 1,566 713
______________________________________________________________________________
Total 2,925 10,959 7,177 4,264 1,992
______________________________________________________________________________
* of which Western Europe 1,078 4,014 2,537 1,422 674
2007 2006
__________________________________________
YTD year over year change (%) 0703 0612 0609 0606 0603
______________________________________________________________________________
Europe, Middle East & Africa * 55% 48% 46% 56% 71%
Americas 46% 68% 62% 53% 53%
Asia 35% 48% 37% 35% 36%
______________________________________________________________________________
Total 47% 51% 45% 47% 55%
______________________________________________________________________________
* of which Western Europe 60% 46% 46% 59% 84%