SONY yesterday pinned its recovery hopes on a holy trinity of huge liquid-crystal televisions, the arrival of the delayed PlayStation 3 console and the film version of The Da Vinci Code, as it reported a loss of 66.6 billion yen (£320 million) for the first quarter.

The loss for the January to March period by the sprawling Japanese electronics and media giant was Y10 billion worse than for the same period last year.

The release of the figures coincided with the approach of the first anniversary of Sir Howard Stringer’s appointment as chairman and chief executive. The Welshman — Sony’s first non-Japanese boss — has begun a ruthless restructuring of the iconic brand, with plans to cut 10,000 jobs, divesting or closing numerous operations and trying to give the group back its image as an innovator. Since he formally took over last June, the shares have soared by more than 48 per cent.

In the depths of its misery in 2003, Sony was lambasted for failing to exploit the potential of LCD and plasma-screen televisions. But the company has relaunched this technology under the new Bravia brand of flat-screen TVs, sales of which have been better than some investors had predicted.

Based partly on positive sales of the Bravia brand, the group said that it was likely to achieve its target of returning to overall profitability in the second half of this year, and forecast a rise of 5.2 per cent in annual profits.

Nobuyuki Oneda, the chief financial officer, said: “The electronics and finance businesses have been strong since January, when we raised our forecast . . . but we are only halfway through the true recovery in our earnings.”

According to Sony, other highlights in the performance of the electronics division included increased sales of Vaio laptop computers and of digital cameras — growth that has persuaded the company to increase production in 2006.

However, Sony still faces many tough challenges. It is the leading member of the consortium behind Blu-ray discs — a format of next- generation high-definition DVD players that will shortly become the centre of a big industrial war against a rival format produced by Toshiba.

The launch of the PlayStation 3 games console has been delayed until late in the year, giving Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console a significant headstart in the market.

Sony also has high hopes for the big-screen adaptation of the bestselling Dan Brown novel The Da Vinci Code, due for release in May. Traders in Tokyo pointed out, however, that the spectacular sales of the book could undermine the film’s success, since tens of millions of people across the globe already know the ending.

When it comes to films, Sony may be left depending on the pulling power of Casino Royale, the first outing for Daniel Craig as the new James Bond.

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