Sony 2003 Annual Report Download - page 3

Sony Corporation Annual Report 2003 1
To Our Shareholders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Management Discusses Key Issues. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
At a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Sony World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Research and Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Corporate Social Responsibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Management (Fiscal Year Ended March 31, 2003) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Financial Section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Fact Sheets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Stock Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Corporate Governance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
New Members of the Board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
New Corporate Executive Officers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Investor Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Cautionary Statement
Statements made in this annual report with respect to Sony’s current plans, estimates, strategies and beliefs
and other statements that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements about the future perfor-
mance of Sony. Forward-looking statements include but are not limited to those statements using words
such as “ believe,” “ expect,” “ plans,” “ strategy,” “ prospects,” “ forecast,” “ estimate,” “ project,” “ anticipate,”
“ may” or “ might” and words of similar meaning in connection with a discussion of future operations,
financial performance, events or conditions. From time to time, oral or w ritten forward-looking statements
may also be included in other materials released to the public. These statements are based on management’s
assumptions and beliefs in light of the information currently available to it. Sony cautions you that a number
of important risks and uncertainties could cause actual results to differ materially from those discussed in
the forward-looking statements, and therefore you should not place undue reliance on them. You also
should not rely on any obligation of Sony to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise. Sony disclaims any such obligation. Risks and
uncertainties that might affect Sony include, but are not limited to (i) the global economic environment in
which Sony operates, as w ell as the economic conditions in Sony’s markets, particularly levels of consumer
spending; (ii) exchange rates, particularly between the yen and the U.S. dollar, euro, and other currencies in
which Sony makes significant sales or in which Sony’s assets and liabilities are denominated; (iii) Sony’s
ability to continue to design and develop and win acceptance of its products and services, which are offered
in highly competitive markets characterized by continual new product introductions, rapid development in
technology, and subjective and changing consumer preferences (particularly in the Electronics, Game, Music
and Pictures segments); (iv) Sony’s ability to implement successfully personnel reduction and other business
reorganization activities in its Electronics and M usic segments, (v) Sony’s ability to implement successfully its
network strategy for its Electronics, Music, Pictures and Other segments and to develop and implement
successful sales and distribution strategies in its Music and Pictures segments in light of the Internet and
other technological developments; (vi) Sony’s continued ability to devote sufficient resources to research
and development and, with respect to capital expenditures, to correctly prioritize investments (particularly in
the Electronics segment); and (vii) the success of Sony’s joint ventures and alliances. Risks and uncertainties
also include the impact of any future events with material unforeseen impacts.
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