Quarterly profits at Japanese electronics giant Sony have almost halved, due to a loss at its mobile phone venture with Sweden's Ericsson.
The maker of PlayStation said that net profit totalled 35 billion yen ($US326 million) in the April to June period, down from 66.5b yen a year ago.
Sony was rattled by a strong yen and stiff price competition, although PlayStation sales were strong.
The company also trimmed its annual profit forecast for the year to 31 March, 2009, to 240b yen - down from an earlier forecast in May of 290b yen.
It said it expected weak results from the Sony Ericsson mobile phone venture, which has faced declining demand for its more expensive phones.
