Sony shares fell more than 4 per cent to hit the lowest in almost three years today after the electronics maker announced a recall of 438,000 Vaio portable computers due to possible overheating that could burn
users.
Sony has been dogged in recent years by recalls of laptop computer batteries due to concerns they would overheat and catch fire.
Dell, Apple and other top PC makers recalled 9.6 million Sony batteries in 2006, costing the Japanese firm $481.5 million.
The company said the impact on its earnings from the latest recall would be limited. But some market participants voiced concerns about Sony's reputation because the recall hit one of its main businesses and the company was slow to report the defect.
Sony said the problem in the Vaio laptops, produced between May 2007 and July 2008, is related to irregularly positioned wires near the computer's hinge that can cause a short circuit and overheating.
The company considers the PC business as one of its seven pillars and aims to expand it to a $9.4 billion business by the year ending in March 2011.
Sony spokesman Shinichi Tobe said the company sees a limited impact on its earnings from the recall - one of the biggest in computers since 2006.
Mr Tobe said the company had first learned of the Vaio wiring trouble in August 2007 and had replaced parts individually for those computers that were affected.
It reported the problem to the Japanese authorities last month when there were more than 200 cases worldwide and moved to a voluntary recall, announced yesterday. Some pointed out that the gap in timing was too much.