Sony 2008 Annual Report Download - page 50

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48
In the fi scal year 2005, Sony launched a three-year
mid-term corporate strategy to improve profi tability
and strengthen its corporate structure. These efforts
allowed us to achieve record-high results in consoli-
dated sales and operating revenue, income before
income taxes, equity in net income of affi liated
companies and net income in the fi scal year ended
March 31, 2008.
Sales in the Electronics segment increased from
the previous fi scal year, refl ecting robust sales of
such products as LCD televisions, PCs and compact
digital cameras. Higher sales, together with the
positive impact of foreign currency exchange rate
fl uctuations, resulted in a sharp increase in operating
income. Both sales and operating income results
set records for the segment.
In the Game segment, an enhanced software
lineup for PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) and the introduc-
tion of a new model helped to further expand the
PS3™ platform. The segment’s operating loss was
substantially reduced, owing to PS3™ hardware cost
reductions and increased sales of PS3™ software.
A decline in motion pictures sales—due primarily
to fewer fi lm releases during the period—led to a
decrease in sales in the Pictures segment. Operating
income increased, refl ecting the strong performance
of fi lms from previous years released for the in-home
entertainment and television markets.
In the Financial Services segment, the life insur-
ance, casualty insurance and banking businesses
are expanding steadily. However, a signifi cant decline
in the Japanese stock market caused a deterioration
of net valuation gains from convertible bonds at Sony
Life Insurance Co., Ltd., which led to a decrease in
overall segment revenue and operating income.
Based on careful consideration of various factors,
including our results for fi scal year 2007, we plan to
increase the regular annual dividend by ¥15 from
¥25 to ¥40 per share, for the fi scal year ended March
31, 2009. We also plan to distribute a special divi-
dend of ¥10 per share, to be paid in December 2008.
This is in recognition of the successful initial public
offering of shares in Sony Financial Holdings on the
Tokyo Stock Exchange, and of Sony’s record con-
solidated net income in fi scal year 2007. As a result,
we plan to pay a total annual dividend for fi scal year
2008 of ¥50 per share, comprising an interim divi-
dend of ¥30 and a year-end dividend of ¥20.
Sony will continue to focus on establishing an even
stronger corporate structure that will position us to
respond with greater fl exibility to changes in the
business environment. At the same time we will
devote our best efforts to further enhance our
operating results.
Nobuyuki Oneda
Corporate Executive Offi cer,
Executive Vice President and CFO
A Message from the CFO
08SonyE_P40_48_0725.indd 4808SonyE_P40_48_0725.indd 48 08.8.7 2:20:43 PM08.8.7 2:20:43 PM