Sony said it is expecting a drop in sales from its Mobile Communications business in the coming year, due to a decrease in its mid-tier handset sales “in an effort to improve the profit structure of the segment”.

It is forecasting sales and operating revenue for the year to 31 March 2016 of JPY1.31 trillion ($11 billion), a 7.1 per cent like-for-like decrease year-on-year. And while the unit will see its loss trimmed significantly, this will largely be due to the fact it recorded a significant impairment charge (JPY176 billion) last year which will not be repeated – and the unit will still be in the red.

It is expecting to ship 30 million smartphone units during the year, down from 39.1 million in the year to 31 March 2015.

Sony previously said that it is focused on “curtailing risk and securing profit” from the mobile unit, with reports that no options had been taken off the table. But the company came out fighting at Mobile World Congress this year, asserting that it is in this market to stay.

For the full year, the unit reported an operating loss of JPY220.4 billion, compared with a prior-year profit of JPY12.6 billion, on revenue of JPY1.32 trillion, up 11 per cent. The bottom line was impacted by the goodwill charge and the “unfavourable impact of the appreciation of the US dollar”.

Its sales benefitted from an improvement in product mix due to its focus on “high value-added” models and the impact of foreign exchange rates.

Its smartphone shipments (39.1 million) was flat year-on-year.

In the fourth quarter, Mobile Communications sales were “essentially flat” year-on-year at JPY271.62 billion, with an improved product mix as a result of the high-end focus offset by a decrease in unit sales and foreign exchange impact.

But its operating loss increased “significantly” to JPY54.95 billion from JPY15.1 billon, due to the appreciation of the US dollar impacting the high-ratio of dollar-denominated costs, as well as the recording of intellectual-property related reserves in the current quarter.

The company sold 7.9 million smartphones in Q4, down from 8.8 million year-on-year.

On a group level, full year loss was JPY126 billion, narrowed slightly from JPY128.4 billion, on revenue of JPY8.22 trillion, up 5.8 per cent.

It noted that “significant improvement in the operating results of the Devices (components), Game & Network Services, and Home Entertainment & Sound units were offset by the performance of the mobile business.