Sony Corp.

www.sony.com

Sales

$72 billion

Business Description 

Sony Corporation, the ultimate parent company of the Sony Group, was established in Japan in May 1946 as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, a joint stock company (Kabushiki Kaisha) under the Japanese Commercial Code (Shoho). In January 1958, it changed its name to Sony Kabushiki Kaisha (“Sony Corporation” in English). In December 1958, Sony Corporation was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (the “TSE”). In June 1961, Sony Corporation issued American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) in the U.S.

Products and Services

Information and Communications:

“Information and Communications” includes Sony Vaio PCs, printer systems, personal digital assistants, and broadcast- and professional-use audio, video and monitors and other professional-use equipment.

This category contained the results of Sony’s mobile phone handset business until the end of September 2001. On October 1, 2001, the mobile handset business was transferred to Sony Ericsson leaving only sales of mobile handsets manufactured by Sony for Sony Ericsson to appear in the Other category of Electronics. Sales figures for past fiscal years have not been restated in either category. 
Audio:

“Audio” includes home audio, portable audio, car audio and car navigation systems.

Video:

“Video” includes video cameras, digital still cameras, video decks, DVD-Video players/recorders, and set-top boxes such as digital broadcasting reception systems.

Televisions:

“Televisions” includes televisions incorporating cathode ray tubes (“CRTs”), projection televisions, plasma televisions, liquid crystal displays (“LCDs”) televisions, computer displays, and CRTs.

Semiconductors:

“Semiconductors” includes LCDs, charge coupled devices (“CCDs”) and other semiconductors.

Components:

“Components” includes optical pickups, batteries, audio/video/data recording media, and data recording systems.

Other:

“Other” includes Aiwa products which was merged into Sony Corporation as of December 1, 2002, sales to outside customers by Sony EMCS Corporation (“Sony EMCS”), and products and services which are not included in the above categories.

Sales of mobile phone handsets manufactured at Sony EMCS for Sony Ericsson have been recorded in this category since October 1, 2001.

Game

SCEI develops, produces, manufactures, markets and distributes PlayStation, PS one and PlayStation 2 hardware and related software in Japan, and is developing the next-generation entertainment system. SCEA and SCEE market and distribute PlayStation, PS one and PlayStation 2 hardware, and develop, produce, manufacture, market and distribute related software in the U.S. and Europe. SCEI, SCEA and SCEE enter into licenses with third-party software developers.

Music

SMEI and SMEJ produce recorded music and music videos through contracts with many artists worldwide in all musical genres. SMEI and SMEJ produce, manufacture, market and distribute CDs, MDs, DVDs, Super Audio CDs, and pre-recorded audio and video cassettes and produce and manufacture CD-ROMs and DVD-ROMs.

The Music segment has an extensive and geographically diversified software manufacturing capacity, with plants in the U.S., Austria, Japan, Brazil, Australia, India, China, Canada, Hong Kong, Chile and Mexico. Software is manufactured for the Music segment, the Game segment, the Pictures segment and third parties. In addition, the Music segment distributes digital music product through online music services and other emerging digital formats.

Pictures

Global operations in the Pictures segment encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; television broadcasting; digital production, online distribution and broadband services; and operation of studio facilities.

SPE’s motion picture arm, the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, includes SPE’s principal motion picture production organizations, Columbia Pictures, TriStar Pictures, Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics as well as Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment, Sony Pictures Releasing and Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International. SPE is an equity investor in Revolution Studios and has the rights to market and distribute its motion picture product throughout most of the world. Upon delivery of Revolution Studios’ films, SPE advances a portion of the production cost and then incurs distribution and marketing costs in those markets where SPE distributes. SPE retains a fee for its distribution services in addition to its participation in Revolution Studios’ profits and losses as a result of its equity ownership stake.

SPE’s Television Group is primarily comprised of Sony Pictures Television and Sony Pictures Television International with various broadcast channel investments. SPE develops and produces network television series, first-run syndication programming, made-for-cable programming, daytime serials, syndicated games shows, animated series, made for television movies, miniseries and other television programming and distributes such programs to the networks, syndication and cable markets.

Sony Pictures Digital operates SPE’s digital production, online distribution, and broadband services including Sony Online Entertainment, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Sony Pictures Animation and Sony Pictures Digital Networks.

SPE also manages the studio facility, Sony Pictures Studios, which includes post production facilities, at SPE’s world headquarters in Culver City, California. A second studio facility that was owned and operated by SPE, The Culver Studios, was sold by SPE in April 2004, and SPE is leasing back a portion of this facility for a two-year period.

Financial Services

The Financial Services segment includes Sony Life, which underwrites insurance policies, primarily for individual life insurance products in Japan, and sells non-life insurance products provided by Sony Assurance; Sony Assurance, which conducts an individual automobile and medical insurance business in Japan; Sony Bank, which conducts an Internet-based banking business, including personal loans, mortgage loans, investment trusts, and deposits, for individual customers in Japan; and Sony Finance, which conducts a leasing and credit financing business in Japan, focusing on a new credit card business for Internet shopping, utilizing a non-contact IC card technology developed by Sony.

Other

The Other segment is mainly comprised of an in-house oriented information system service business in Japan, an advertising agency business in Japan, an Internet-related service business mainly in Japan, a retail seller of imported general merchandise in Japan, an in-house facilities management business in Japan and an IC card business.

he following sets forth the significant subsidiaries owned, directly or indirectly, by Sony Corporation.

Name of company incorporation Percentage owned:

Sony EMCS Corporation Japan 100.0
Sony Marketing (Japan) Inc. Japan 100.0
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. Japan 99.7 *
Sony Life Insurance Co., Ltd. Japan 100.0
Sony Americas Holding Inc. U.S.A. 100.0
Sony Corporation of America U.S.A. 100.0
Sony Electronics Inc. U.S.A. 100.0
Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. U.S.A. 99.7 *
Sony Music Entertainment Inc. U.S.A. 100.0
Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. U.S.A. 100.0
Sony Europe Holding B.V. Holland 100.0
Sony Europe G.m.b.H. Germany 100.0
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd. U.K. 99.7 *
Sony Global Treasury Services Plc U.K. 100.0
Sony Holding (Asia) B.V. Holland 100.0
Sony Electronics Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. Singapore 100.0

* On April 1, 2004, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd. became wholly owned subsidiaries of Sony Corporation.

In the Electronics segment, Sony is engaged in the development, design, manufacture, and sale of various kinds of electronic equipment, instruments, and devices for consumer and professional markets. Sony’s principal manufacturing facilities are located in Japan, Malaysia, China, the U.S., the U.K., Spain and Mexico, and its products are marketed by sales subsidiaries and unaffiliated local distributors as well as direct sales via the Internet, throughout the world. In addition to internationalizing its production operations, Sony has been promoting the transfer of research and development activities and management functions overseas to bring its overseas operations into closer proximity to local communities and markets.

In the Game segment, Sony develops, produces, manufactures, markets, distributes, licenses and publishes home-use entertainment hardware and related software. This business is principally conducted through SCEI in Japan. Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. (“SCEA”) in the U.S. and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe Ltd. (“SCEE”) in Europe are both wholly-owned subsidiaries of SCEI.

In the Music segment, Sony is engaged in the development, production, manufacture, marketing and distribution of recorded music and music videos in a variety of commercial and electronic formats and across all musical genres, for the world outside of Japan through SMEI and in Japan through SMEJ.

In the Pictures segment, Sony is engaged in the development, production, marketing, distribution, and broadcasting of image-based software, including film, video, television, and new digital entertainment technologies, principally through SPE.

In the Financial Services segment, Sony conducts insurance operations primarily through Sony Life, a Japanese life insurance subsidiary, and Sony Assurance Inc. (“Sony Assurance”), a Japanese non-life insurance subsidiary. Sony is engaged in a leasing and credit financing business in Japan through Sony Finance International Inc. (“Sony Finance”). Sony also conducts an Internet-based banking business in Japan through Sony Bank Inc. (“Sony Bank”), which is an 80 percent directly owned subsidiary of SFH. On April 1, 2004, Sony established SFH by separating a part of Sony Corporation. SFH, which is a holding company of Sony Life, Sony Assurance and Sony Bank, will integrate varied financial services including savings and loans, and offer individual customers high added-value products and high-quality services.
In the Other segment, Sony is engaged in an in-house oriented information system service business in Japan, an advertising agency business in Japan, an Internet-related service business mainly in Japan, and an Integrated Circuit (“IC”) card business in Japan.
 

Ticker

SNE

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