ID :
32682
Thu, 11/27/2008 - 22:33
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/32682
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Panasonic cuts FY 2008 group net profit estimate by 90% to 30 bil. yen
OSAKA, Nov. 27 Kyodo - Panasonic Corp. said Thursday it has slashed its group net profit projection for fiscal 2008 by 90.3 percent from its original target to 30 billion yen, blaming the yen's surge, slowing consumption and harsh price-cutting competition.
The latest projection represents an 89 percent plunge from the fiscal 2007
profit and the first decline in full-year net profit since fiscal 2001.
With the announcement, Panasonic joined a number of other Japanese electronics
makers like Sony Corp., Toshiba Corp., and Sharp Corp. in cutting earnings
forecasts, underscoring the harsh business environment surrounding them amid
the global economic slowdown.
Osaka-based Panasonic said it is now expecting an operating profit of 340
billion yen for the current business year ending next March, down 39.3 percent
from its projection in April, on sales of 8.5 trillion yen, down 7.6 percent.
The latest operating profit forecast represents a 35 percent drop from the
previous year while the new sales projection marks a 6 percent fall.
Panasonic, which is planning to acquire smaller rival Sanyo Electric Co., had
kept its original earnings forecast intact when it reported its April-September
earnings results last month.
Panasonic is suffering from sluggish sales of its mainstay flat-screen
televisions and digital cameras especially in the United States and Europe
following the global financial crisis, and is expecting sales to score poorly
in the year-end shopping season.
The company made its original earnings projection based on an assumption that
the yen would trade at around 100 yen to a U.S. dollar for the business year,
but it has been stronger than the assumed level, which is also a factor hurting
the firm's earnings.
''The U.S.-triggered financial crisis has spread to the world, and business
confidence deteriorated significantly at home and abroad,'' Panasonic said in a
statement.
''The business circumstances surrounding us have deteriorated sharply due to
such factors as a much sharper than expected appreciation of the yen, slowing
consumption at home and abroad, and intensified price competition,'' the
statement said.
Factors contributing to the downward revisions include appraisal losses on its
stockholdings following the turbulence on stock markets and required costs for
planned restructuring measures, Panasonic added.
For the April-September first half of the year, Panasonic reported robust
results, with its group net profit expanding 22.2 percent from a year earlier
to 128.49 billion yen, setting a new high for the first time in 23 years.
==Kyodo
The latest projection represents an 89 percent plunge from the fiscal 2007
profit and the first decline in full-year net profit since fiscal 2001.
With the announcement, Panasonic joined a number of other Japanese electronics
makers like Sony Corp., Toshiba Corp., and Sharp Corp. in cutting earnings
forecasts, underscoring the harsh business environment surrounding them amid
the global economic slowdown.
Osaka-based Panasonic said it is now expecting an operating profit of 340
billion yen for the current business year ending next March, down 39.3 percent
from its projection in April, on sales of 8.5 trillion yen, down 7.6 percent.
The latest operating profit forecast represents a 35 percent drop from the
previous year while the new sales projection marks a 6 percent fall.
Panasonic, which is planning to acquire smaller rival Sanyo Electric Co., had
kept its original earnings forecast intact when it reported its April-September
earnings results last month.
Panasonic is suffering from sluggish sales of its mainstay flat-screen
televisions and digital cameras especially in the United States and Europe
following the global financial crisis, and is expecting sales to score poorly
in the year-end shopping season.
The company made its original earnings projection based on an assumption that
the yen would trade at around 100 yen to a U.S. dollar for the business year,
but it has been stronger than the assumed level, which is also a factor hurting
the firm's earnings.
''The U.S.-triggered financial crisis has spread to the world, and business
confidence deteriorated significantly at home and abroad,'' Panasonic said in a
statement.
''The business circumstances surrounding us have deteriorated sharply due to
such factors as a much sharper than expected appreciation of the yen, slowing
consumption at home and abroad, and intensified price competition,'' the
statement said.
Factors contributing to the downward revisions include appraisal losses on its
stockholdings following the turbulence on stock markets and required costs for
planned restructuring measures, Panasonic added.
For the April-September first half of the year, Panasonic reported robust
results, with its group net profit expanding 22.2 percent from a year earlier
to 128.49 billion yen, setting a new high for the first time in 23 years.
==Kyodo
