Sony share price up, to delay quarter results after hacker attack

Sony Corp. announced on Friday it expects to delay its quarterly report as the Japanese company deals with disruptions caused by the hacker attack in November.

Sony said it had asked the Financial Services Agency of Japan to extend the deadline by which the company must report its third-quarter results from February 16 to March 31, the last day of the fiscal year.

The company said it would release information related to its quarterly performance on February 4, when Sony was initially due to report, but the data would include only projections of Sony Pictures Entertainments results. Sonys other divisions, including its financial, electronics and mobile units, would provide final figures.

The Tokyo-based company said the cyber attack did massive damage to its movie division, including the destruction of network hardware on which vast amounts of data was stored, forcing Sony Pictures Entertainment to shut down its entire network.

Despite, the units “aggressive” approach on restoring the systems, most of Sony Pictures Entertainments financial and accounting applications will not be operational until early February, the company said. Once the needed information is accessible, Sony would take immediate action to close its third quarter financial statement.

“While Sony continues to evaluate the impact of the cyber attack on its financial results, it currently believes that such impact is not material,” Sony said in a statement.

Amir Anvarzadeh, manager of Japanese equity sales at BGC Partners, estimated the damage done from the hacker attack at $169 million, ahead of the announcement in an e-mailed report cited by Bloomberg.

US authorities have linked the attack to South Korea as a possible counter action for Sony Pictures Entertainments comedy about the assassination of the countrys leader Kim Jong-un.

However, South Korea denied being involved in the cyber attack, despite its open criticism toward “The Interview” and the letter it sent the United Nations, in which the movie was described as “undisguised sponsoring of terrorism” and it should be regarded as an “act of war.”

Initially, Sony Pictures Entertainment canceled the release of the title after hackers threatened to attack major US cinemas. However, after receiving criticism from President Barack Obama and several Hollywood celebrities, the company launched the movie via online platforms.

Sony Corp edged up 4.85% on Friday and closed at JPY 2 737, marking a one-year increase of 55.16%. The company is valued at JPY 2 737.

According to the Financial Times, the 17 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Sony Corp have a median target of JPY 2 850, with a high estimate of JPY 3 700 and a low estimate of JPY 1 750. The median estimate represents a 4.13% increase from the last close price.