Sony Set To Split Off Semiconductor Business
New unit will look to promote image sensor business as Sony gets back in the black
Sony will spin off its semiconductor operation as part of a restructure that it hopes will allow it to focus on the more lucrative parts of its business and reform its troubled device unit
This move see the creation of a new entity, Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation, which will oversee the likes of the company’s increasingly popular image sensor business.
Sony is confident the changes will permit it to “concentrate on sustained growth” following a number of recent high-profile wins, including the cameras for Google’s new Nexus devices amongst others
All change
Sony Semiconductor Solutions will be headed up by Terushi Shimizu, who is currently deputy president of Sony’s device solutions business group.
The new unit will also gain control of all R&D, business control, sales and other operations which are currently overseen by other business groups within Sony, with the new company hoping to commence operations on April 1, 2016.
The move is the latest in a series of actions by Sony as it looks to stay productive and profitable in an ever-changing electronics industry.
The company released encouraging financial results back in July, helped by strong growth in its music and gaming divisions, and by success in the Devices unit. However its smartphone and tablet business remains troubled, as sales fell 16 percent, and the company also sold its struggling VAIO PC business last year.
Sony will be hoping for a quick improvement on this in its next set of results, particularly following the launch of its most powerful smartphone to date, the Xperia Z5 Premium, (pictured above) last month at the IFA 2015 trade show in Berlin.
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