Stringer: "We're making a comeback already"

Sony Chairman Howard Stringer has told investors at the annual shareholders meeting that the company is on the road to recovery and that the PlayStation 3 is vital for a successful future.

Stringer assured the audience of over 7,000 shareholders that PlayStation 3 manufacturing problems were now behind the group, and the console is a "key driver" for future growth, according an Associated Press report.

"All the production problems have been solved. We are making a comeback already," commented a bullish Stringer.

"We always lose money in the hardware initially, and we recover that money gradually.

"We believe that the PS3 going forward will be vital to our future, and succeed," he said.

Signs of regaining share in the consumer electronics sector include the success of the Sony Bravia flat-panel TV, which last year was the best-selling flat-panel on the market, according to Stringer.

"We have worked very hard to catch up so that in the age of video we will not suffer as much as we did in audio," said Stringer, referring to the company's slow adoption of the MP3 format and portable media players.

As well as a costly PlayStation 3 launch that suffered manufacturing delays due to a shortage of Blu-ray diodes, the company also had to recall around 10 million batteries from faulty laptops, estimated to have cost around JPY 51 billion (EUR 308 bn).

The chairman also reassured investors that he was committed to turning the company around, playing down his non-Japanese citizenship.

"I am not a foreigner. I am a Sony warrior," he said.