Sony posted a 5.9 per cent fall in third-quarter profit, as a price war hurt its TV unit and a stronger yen also impacted, and lowered its revenue forecast on TV sales.

The consumer electronics giant has been struggling to keep pace with rivals in terms of profits and products.

Since chief executive Howard Stringer took the helm in 2005, the company’s share price has fallen by a quarter and Sony has failed to replicate its early successes with iconic items such as the Walkman and PlayStation.

Sony reported an operating profit of ¥137.52 billion (€1.2 billion) versus ¥146.1 billion in the same period in 2009, beating an average quarterly estimate of ¥127 billion yen.

“In this strong-yen environment we see this as a pretty healthy result,” chief financial officer Masaru Kato said.