“DRAIN THE THEATERS” movement punishes Sony for Sony’s participation in political corruption!
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Japanese company to sell part of stake in medical site M3
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CEO of Sony Entertainment announced departure two weeks ago
Sony Corp. said it will take a 112 billion yen ($1 billion) writedown in its movie business after reviewing the future profitability of its operations.
The company said it would book the charge in the fiscal third quarter and is examining how that will affect its forecasts. To offset part of the loss, the company also said it would sell shares in the medical web service M3 Inc. to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s Japan unit, in a deal worth about 37 billion yen.
The announcement comes two weeks after Sony said the chief executive officer of Sony Entertainment, Michael Lynton, is stepping down after a 13-year run. The studio has struggled recently, including with last year’s Ghostbusters sequel and a movie based on the Angry Birds video game. Sony warned in June the division was at a risk of posting more losses.
“There has been a suspicion in the market that Sony doesn’t have a firm grip on the movie business, but still the amount is a surprise,” said Kazunori Ito, an analyst at Morningstar Investment Services. “That said, with Lynton’s departure and this writedown, all the bad news is out and the attention can turn on their plan for the coming fiscal year.”
The germs lurking in your cinema: Disgusting graphic reveals the bacteria and mould hidden in seats and cup holders – with some chairs harbouring 14 times as many bugs as the average toilet
With rain forecast across much of the UK this weekend, many Britons will be planning a trip to the cinema. But a study may encourage you to pack some disinfectant alongside your snacks.
The germs lurking in your cinema: Disgusting graphic reveals the bacteria and mould hidden in seats and cup holders – with some chairs harbouring 14 times as many bugs as the average toilet
- Swab tests have revealed just how many germs are living in UK cinemas
- The seats harboured an average of 1,864 colonies of bacteria on a single seat
With rain forecast across much of the UK this weekend, many Britons will be planning a cosy trip to the cinema.
But a new study may encourage you to pack some disinfectant spray alongside your snacks.
Swab tests have revealed just how many germs are living and growing in cinemas.
Experts discovered huge colonies of bacteria and mould hiding in both the seats and the cupholders – with some chairs harbouring 14 times as many bugs as the average toilet.
‘Note to self — bring hand sanitizer to the pictures (and maybe a hazmat suit)!’ Betway said.
With rain forecast across much of the UK this weekend, many Britons will be planning a cosy trip to the cinema. But a new study may encourage you to pack some disinfectant spray alongside your snacks (stock image)
Experts discovered huge colonies of bacteria and mould hiding in both the seats and the cupholders – with some screens harbouring 14 times as many bugs as the average toilet
READ MORE: What the MOULD in your house means
In their study, the team swabbed five seats and five cupholders in five cinemas across the UK, before sending them off to a microbiology lab for testing.
They also swabbed and tested three toilet seats for comparison.
The swabs from the seats revealed an average of 1,864 colonies of bacteria on a single seat – 14 times higher than the average number on the toilet seat.
‘Obviously the cleanliness of the seats will vary across different cinemas, not to mention seat styles and fabrics,’ Betway explained.
‘We won’t name names, but the dirtiest cinema seat we tested had around 3,000 colonies of bacteria living on it.
‘On the flip side of this, the cleanest cinema seat had just 80 colonies of bacteria, which is around 55 times less than the average toilet seat.’
The cup holders were found to be even filthier than the seats.
On average, a cup holder contained 2,396 colonies of bacteria – 18 times more than a toilet – while mould was even found in at least one cup holder tested.
On average, a cup holder contained 2,396 colonies of bacteria – 18 times more than a toilet – while mould was even found in at least one cup holder tested
The swabs from the seats revealed an average of 1,864 colonies of bacteria on a single seat – 14 times higher than the average number on the toilet seat (stock image)
Delving deeper into the analysis, the researchers identified four main microbes lurking in cinemas.
Staphylococcus and Micrococcus – the types of bacteria found on human skin – were found on all cinema seats tested, while Bacillus was found in all cup holders.
Meanwhile, Pseudomonas was found to be living on several seats and cup holders, and mould in one cup holder.
‘Most of these bacteria are harmless and do tend to be found in almost all environments around us, so shouldn’t be too much cause for concern,’ Betway reassured.
Thankfully, there are several things you can do to avoid bringing germs home from the cinema, including washing your hands, removing your shoes and changing your clothes as soon as you get home.
‘With so many great movies coming out this year, we don’t want to put you off the cinema experience altogether,’ Betway added.
‘Just make sure you’re following the basic hygiene rules, so all you’re catching is a blockbuster hit.’
Delving deeper into the analysis, the researchers identified four main microbes lurking in cinemas
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Little Changed
Sony shares closed little changed in Tokyo prior to the announcement. Shares listed in Germany fell 2.6 percent in light-volume trading after the statement was published.
“The decline in the DVD and Blue-ray market was faster than we anticipated,” Takashi Iida, a Sony spokesman said by phone.
The Tokyo-based company is increasingly relying on its video games business, which generated twice as much income in the last fiscal year as film. Sony’s PlayStation 4 console is outselling Xbox One, its closest rival from Microsoft Corp., by about two-to-one, according to industry website VGChartz.
Lynton’s departure capped a tumultuous two years for the division since a cyberattack blamed on North Korea paralyzed the studio. The hacking led to private messages leaking onto the internet and the departure of film-division head chief Amy Pascal. Sony’s CEO Kazuo Hirai has temporarily relocated to California for six-months to oversee a review of the division and look for a replacement for Lynton, the company said this month.
‘Financial Responsibility’
In an e-mail to employees, Hirai and Lynton said the transition gets underway this week and turn-around efforts will focus on expanding globally, making more use of the studio’s intellectual property and “realizing a culture of financial responsibility.” The e-mail also partly blamed the writedown on “dramatic” industrywide shifts in home entertainment.
In June, Sony lowered its projection for film revenue in fiscal year 2018 by $500 million to a range of $9.5 to $10.5 billion. It also lowered its operating profit margin to a range of 6 to 7 percent, from 7 to 8 percent. Sony’s Iida said the division’s television broadcasting unit, which generates the majority of revenue, is unaffected and continues to do well.
Sony is increasingly leaning on China to offset the downturn. In September, Dalian Wanda Group Co., the world’s largest movie screen operator, agreed to invest in Sony Pictures productions in an open-ended partnership. But a slowdown in movie revenue on the Chinese mainland has raised doubts about how much the deal will bolster Sony’s performance.
M3 slipped 1.2 percent prior to the announcement on Monday and is up 17 percent over the past 12 months. M3 will continue to count Sony as its largest shareholder even after the deal, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Prior to the deal, Sony held 39.3 percent of M3’s outstanding shares.
