Sony Corp and Toshiba Corp fell in Tokyo trading after media reports the companies would record operating losses this fiscal year because of worsening electronics and chip operations.
Sony tumbled 8.9 percent to close at ¥2,000 on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, its steepest decline since Nov. 6.
Toshiba fell 8.6 percent to ¥385, the biggest drop since Oct. 24. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average slid 4.8 percent.
PHOTO: EPA
Falling sales of electronics including televisions in North America and Europe could push Sony’s operating loss to about ¥100 billion (US$1.1 billion) in the 12 months ending on March 31, the Nikkei Shimbun reported yesterday, without citing anyone.
The deficit, Sony’s first from operations in 14 years, compares with a ¥200 billion profit the company forecast in October.
“The numbers look about right when one considers the severity of the sales slump since October” at Sony, said Kazuharu Miura, an analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd in Tokyo.
Miura has a “neutral” rating on Sony.
Sony said in a statement to the Tokyo Stock Exchange that the forecast was not based on any announcement by the company and declined further comment.
Falling sales and the yen’s gains against the US dollar forced Sony last month to announce plans to cut 16,000 positions and curb investment in its mainstay electronics business by 30 percent from an original plan.
Sony president Ryoji Chubachi in an interview on Jan. 6 described the environment for year-end sales as “severe” and said the company could miss its 16 million unit sales target for liquid-crystal-display TVs for the year ending on March 31.
Toshiba will post its first operating loss in seven years in the 12 months to March 31 because of worsening chip operations, public broadcaster NHK reported yesterday, citing people familiar with the situation.
The deficit will be about ¥200 billion, Nikkei English News reported, without saying where it obtained the information.
“We are evaluating the impact of significant changes in our business environment, and will quickly announce any change to our earnings forecasts, if needed,” Toshiba said in a statement to the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Toshiba in October forecast operating profit, or sales minus the cost of goods sold and administrative expenses, will decline 37 percent to ¥150 billion in the year ending on March 31.
Nvidia Corp yesterday unveiled its new high-speed interconnect technology, NVLink Fusion, with Taiwanese application-specific IC (ASIC) designers Alchip Technologies Ltd (世芯) and MediaTek Inc (聯發科) among the first to adopt the technology to help build semi-custom artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure for hyperscalers. Nvidia has opened its technology to outside users, as hyperscalers and cloud service providers are building their own cost-effective AI chips, or accelerators, used in AI servers by leveraging ASIC firms’ designing capabilities to reduce their dependence on Nvidia. Previously, NVLink technology was only available for Nvidia’s own AI platform. “NVLink Fusion opens Nvidia’s AI platform and rich ecosystem for
WARNING: From Jan. 1 last year to the end of last month, 89 Taiwanese have gone missing or been detained in China, the MAC said, urging people to carefully consider travel to China Lax enforcement had made virtually moot regulations banning civil servants from making unauthorized visits to China, the Control Yuan said yesterday. Several agencies allowed personnel to travel to China after they submitted explanations for the trip written using artificial intelligence or provided no reason at all, the Control Yuan said in a statement, following an investigation headed by Control Yuan member Lin Wen-cheng (林文程). The probe identified 318 civil servants who traveled to China without permission in the past 10 years, but the true number could be close to 1,000, the Control Yuan said. The public employees investigated were not engaged in national
CAUSE AND EFFECT: China’s policies prompted the US to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific, and Beijing should consider if this outcome is in its best interests, Lai said China has been escalating its military and political pressure on Taiwan for many years, but should reflect on this strategy and think about what is really in its best interest, President William Lai (賴清德) said. Lai made the remark in a YouTube interview with Mindi World News that was broadcast on Saturday, ahead of the first anniversary of his presidential inauguration tomorrow. The US has clearly stated that China is its biggest challenge and threat, with US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth repeatedly saying that the US should increase its forces in the Indo-Pacific region
ALL TOGETHER: Only by including Taiwan can the WHA fully exemplify its commitment to ‘One World for Health,’ the representative offices of eight nations in Taiwan said The representative offices in Taiwan of eight nations yesterday issued a joint statement reiterating their support for Taiwan’s meaningful engagement with the WHO and for Taipei’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA). The joint statement came as Taiwan has not received an invitation to this year’s WHA, which started yesterday and runs until Tuesday next week. This year’s meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, would be the ninth consecutive year Taiwan has been excluded. The eight offices, which reaffirmed their support for Taiwan, are the British Office Taipei, the Australian Office Taipei, the
RSS