Sony profit drops 72 percent in fiscal Q2

Sony Corp.'s quarterly profit plunged 72 percent as a surging yen wiped out perks from flat-panel TV and PlayStation 3 sales, as well as box office revenue from the movie "Hancock."

Sony said Wednesday it posted a net profit of 20.8 billion yen ($214 million) for the July-September period compared with 73.7 billion yen a year earlier. Sales in the fiscal second quarter slipped 0.5 percent to 2.072 trillion yen ($21.4 billion).

Sony makes about 80 percent of its sales overseas and is vulnerable to fluctuations in exchange rates. A rising yen erodes the overseas profits when converted into the Japanese currency.

"We already expect a poor performance for the Christmas shopping season," Chief Financial Officer Nobuyuki Oneda told reporters. "On how things will fare after Christmas, I can only say we will continue to keep a careful look."

Sony loses 7.5 billion yen ($77 million) in profit for each 1 yen gain against the euro, and 4 billion yen ($40 million) for each 1 yen gain against the dollar, he said.