October 25, 2007

By By Ed Christman, N.Y.

Sony BMG Music Entertainment continues to claw its way back toward profitability -- even with overall revenue falling -- posting a net loss of $8 million on sales of $851 million in its fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30.

The number compares with a wider net loss of $39 million on sales of $948 million in 2006's fiscal second quarter. The company attributed the 10.2% drop in sales to the declining of the physical music market and to fewer major artist releases in this year as compared to last year.

When compared to 2005 financials, the company's second quarter results indicate progress. At the end of the 2005 second fiscal quarter, Sony BMG produced a $60 million net loss on revenues of $936 million, which was wittled down to $39 million loss in 2006 and $8 milion loss this year.

The Sony BMG results were presented as part of the corporate financial statement issued by Sony Corp., which owns the major in a joint venture with Bertelsmann. Overall, Sony reported net income of Y73.7 million ($641 million), or Y73.5 (61 cents) per diluted share on sales of Y2.08 billion ($18.1 billion).

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