Sony: Hack cost $15 million and no long-term problems

TOKYO – Sony Corp. trimmed its forecast of losses and estimates the Sony Pictures hack cost it about $15 million, but expects no significant harm from the cyberattack in the long run.

Sony also issued new earnings forecasts for the fiscal year ending in March and said it was benefiting from strong sales of the PlayStation 4, other devices and network services.

The hack became public in December when the Hollywood studio’s computers were crippled and sensitive documents were posted online.

“We don’t expect leaks of unreleased films online or damage to our IT systems will cause a significant loss,” Kazuhiko Takeda, vice president of Sony’s corporate planning department, told reporters. “We had insurance against cyberattacks and will be able to recover a significant portion of the costs.”

The company had delayed the announcement of its earnings for the October-December quarter because the hack affected its ability to compile its complete results in time.

It expects a loss of 170 billion yen ($1.4 billion) for the fiscal year, an improvement from a forecast made in October of a 230 billion yen loss. The company reported a 40 billion yen loss last fiscal year.