Sony review after battery recall

Sony has said it is to review its full-year earnings, after recalling 60,000 batteries used in some of its Vaio notebook computers sold in Japan.

The firm said the move was for its "customers' peace of mind", adding to the seven million of its batteries already subject to worldwide recall.

Sony said it was taking into account "factors that could affect earnings".

In a statement Sony said it was in the process of "determining whether a revision to our annual earnings outlook is necessary".

Other factors the firm is considering, as well as batteries and Playstation 3, include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and the performance of its electronics and entertainment businesses.

Sony said in July that it expects group operating profit to total 130bn yen ($1.1bn; £586m) in the year to March, down 43% from a year earlier.

However, that was before a number of major manufacturers recalled Sony-made batteries.

The recalls followed evidence that, in certain circumstances, the batteries could overheat and catch fire.

Hitachi Corporation, Dell, Apple, Toshiba, Lenovo and Fujitsu have all recalled Sony batteries recently.

Sony said the batteries could fuse because pieces of metal were left in their cells during the manufacturing process in Japan.