By Barry Eitel
SAN FRANCISCO
Sony Corporation said Friday it will delay releasing its third quarter earnings results because of the crippling November cyber-attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Sony originally scheduled its announcement for Feb. 4 and the company will still hold a press conference on that day, but will reveal only financial predictions for the quarter.
Sony Pictures is still reeling from the attack, according to Sony. The hacking wrecked much of the film studio’s computer hardware and erased nearly all of its data. Financial and accounting applications aren’t expected to be working normally until early February, the Tokyo-based tech giant contended in a statement, adding that Sony Pictures was taking care not to further damage its computer systems by rebooting them too early.
Sony asked Japanese financial regulators if it would delay the deadline for the company’s earnings report until the end of March, more than a month past the original Feb. 16 deadline.
Sony has never before made an extension request, however, the company is downplaying the actual financial damage caused by the Nov. 24 hack.
“While Sony continues to evaluate the impact of the cyber-attack on its financial results,” Sony reported, “it currently believes that such impact is not material.”
The hacks against Sony were perpetuated by a group calling itself the “Guardians of Peace,” and claimed it acted because of Sony Pictures’ comedy "The Interview," that depicts a fictional assassination of North Korean dictator Kim Jung-un.
The hackers leaked unreleased films and embarrassing email exchanges on the Internet, as well as threatened theaters that showed the film.
A number of theater chains pulled the spoof starring James Franco, sparking an uproar about censorship that reached the White House.
After initially pulling the movie from theaters, Sony Pictures eventually released “The Interview” online, and claims it has made $40 million – recouping most of the film’s $44 million cost of production.
