Sony has been plagued financially by the recall of laptop batteries, struggling to gain market share in mobile media (ipod) industry, and lastly, the costly and delayed Playstation 3 ordeal. And on top of all that, Ken Kutaragi’s sudden retirement. It seems like things are not looking alright for one of the most prestigious companies in the land of rising sun.

Internation Herald Tribune is taking a second look at Sony’s rebound plans to capture some of the key markets they are involved in. According to IHT,

But there is evidence to suggest that the new course the company has pursued - not to mention a healthy dollop of luck and timing - has yielded promising results.

There are at least three main reasons for this. One is that Sony has gone a long way toward mending its electronics business, which accounts for roughly two-thirds of an expected $70 billion in sales in the year ended in March 2007. The second is that the company’s sprawling east-west software-hardware agglomeration may at last be starting to make sense. And, finally, there is Sony’s simple recognition of how deep a hole it got itself into - and how far it still needs to climb back.

The standout in electronics is the revitalization of Sony’s TV business, after earlier bungles - something that was mainly in the works before Stringer stepped up to the chairmanship. Despite price pressure and the conventional view that the hardware business is commoditizing, Sony has so far managed to maintain both premium pricing and lead the market in sales for its Bravia LCD sets for two Christmases in a row.

The TV business still loses money but is “less of a drag,” said John McPeake, who follows Sony for the Prudential Equities Group and says he believes its stock will go even higher.

It is worth noting that the rebound in the television business has come in large measure because of a panel-making joint venture with its rival Samsung - an arrangement that would have been unthinkable within the Sony product-design fortress of old.

Similarly, Sony’s camera business has improved since it acquired the assets of Konica Minolta last year. And a wildly successful new product for the company globally - though not very visible in the United States - has been a line of mobile phone-cum-Walkman players that it is producing in a joint venture with Ericsson.

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