Sony Kumamoto Fab in Earthquake Area

Bloomberg reports that Sony has evacuated employees from its southern Japan Kumamoto image sensor plant as a precaution after the 6.5-scale strong earthquake in the area, according to the company's spokeswoman Mami Imada. There are no reports of fire or injuries at the facility and the company will assess the extent of damage on facilities, she said.

Morningstar quotes Sony spokesman saying that personnel at an image-sensor plant in Kumamoto prefecture were safe and there were no reports of serious damage, but the company was still assessing conditions.



Update: Bloomberg updates that the plant in Kumamoto on the southern island of Kyushu is still being inspected, Sony said. The strength of the earthquake, as well as persistent aftershocks, are raising the risk that it will take time to restore operations, Kenichi Saita, an analyst at Mizuho Securities, wrote in a report.

Still, he said he doesn’t expect the earthquake to have a major impact on camera-chip supplies, given current demand and Sony’s ability to shift production to other factories in Japan.

“We expect components for upcoming high-end smartphones to come from the Kumamoto factory, so there is concern on the impact on production and shipments,” Saita wrote.