SONY FORESEES CONTINUED SLUMP IN EARNINGS Sony Corp <SNE.T> group net income is expected to be down 65 pct for the five months ending March 31 from the same period a year ago at around 10 billion yen, if the yendollar rate remains at the present level, managing director Tsunao Hashimoto told a press conference. Sony will have an irregular five-month business term ending March 31, as its financial year will be changed to run from April 1 to March 31 from the current October 31 year end. Group sales in the same period are estimated at about 550 billion yen, down five pct from a year earlier, he said. The company earlier reported net income of 7.65 billion yen in the three month period ended January 31, down 59.2 pct from a year earlier, on sales of 343.06 billion, down 6.3 pct. The gloomy profits and sales resulted from the yen's recent appreciation against the dollar and a sharp drop in market prices due to severe sales competition at home and abroad. The yen rose 26 pct to an average of 159 yen to the dollar, reducing the company's total sales in the three month period by 40 billion yen, Hashimoto said. Sales of 8-mm video camera/recorders totalled 300,000 units in the three months, unchanged from a year earlier, while Beta-format video tape recorders (vtrs) sales fell to 300,000 from 350,000. Sales of compact disc players rose to 450,000 from 300,000 and those of the Walkman rose to 2.25 mln from 1.30 mln but colour television sales fell to 950,000 from one mln due to lower exports to China. Sales of 8-mm vtrs had already exceeded Beta-format vtrs sales since the beginning of fiscal 1986, Hashimoto said. Overseas sales accounted for 68.2 pct of the total in the three months compared with 71.3 pct a year earlier. Overseas production will account for 35 pct of its total production in 1990 from the present 20 pct. Hashimoto also said parent current profit in the five-month period is estimated at around 17 billion yen, down 33 pct from a year earlier, on sales of 400 billion, down 12 pct. Sony is hoping to retain at least 1985/86 levels of group net profits and sales in the new financial year starting April 1 1987, he added. The company made 41.9 billion yen group net profit in the year ended November 31 1986, down 42.6 pct from a year earlier, on sales of 1,325 billion, down 6.7 pct.