Hitachi incurs 356.91 bil. yen group net loss for April-December+

TOKYO, Feb. 3 Kyodo -
Hitachi Ltd. said Tuesday its group net loss for the April-December period
increased from a loss of 559 million yen a year earlier to 356.91 billion yen,
due to weak sales and the yen's steep appreciation amid the spreading global
recession.
Hitachi, Japan's largest electronics maker with products ranging from light
bulbs to nuclear reactors, reiterated its projection of incurring its
worst-ever group net loss of 700 billion yen for the 2008 business year ending
March 31, marking a third straight year of red ink.
Hitachi's earnings performance is the latest evidence of a serious slump in the
Japanese export-oriented high-tech industry as other big-name electronics
makers like Sony Corp., NEC Corp., and Toshiba Corp. all expect huge losses for
the current business year.
Senior Vice President Toyoaki Nakamura said at a press conference that business
prospects are very uncertain due to rapidly worsening economic conditions.
''We aim to return to the black in 2009. But, no matter how much we
manufacture, we would not be able to make sales unless demand recovers,'' he
said. ''We want to strive hard while focusing on areas where there is some
persistent demand, such as energy-saving white goods and air conditioning.''
For the first nine months of fiscal 2008 through December, Hitachi said its
operating profit fell 8.5 percent to 182.56 billion yen, with sales down 5.2
percent to 7.57 trillion yen.
Hitachi said its sales were hit hard by a plunge in demand for automotive
devices, industrial machinery and other products amid the deepening global
economic problems.
Losses related to the struggling semiconductor business and falls in prices of
flat-screen televisions weighed on its earnings, Hitachi added.
The Tokyo-based company also blamed foreign exchange losses due to the yen's
steep appreciation and valuation losses on securities holdings for the dismal
earnings performance.
To combat the heavy losses, Hitachi said last Friday it plans to cut or
transfer a total of 7,000 workers worldwide by the end of March 2010,
streamline its overlapped businesses, and reduce the number of affiliated
companies from 910 as of March last year to less than 800 by March next year.
Through such measures, Hitachi aims to cut a total of 200 billion yen in fixed
costs by March next year.
For the full 2008 business year, the company now projects 40 billion yen in
operating profit, down 88.4 percent from a year earlier, on 10.02 trillion yen
in sales, down 10.7 percent.
==Kyodo
2009-02-03 22:13:34