Hitachi Ltd, Japan's largest electronics maker, had a loss in its fiscal first half as prices of computer-memory chips and liquid-crystal displays declined and said the second half will be even worse. The shares fell.
Hitachi posted a group loss of ?110.5 billion (US$907 million), or ?33.12 a share, in the six months ended Sept. 30, down from net income of ?61.7 billion, or ?18.48, a year earlier. Sales fell 1.8 percent to ?3.94 trillion. Four analysts polled by Bloomberg News forecast on average a loss of ?101 billion on sales of ?3.82 trillion.
At its electronic devices division, which makes chips and flat-screen displays, Hitachi swung to an operating loss of ?72.9 billion compared with a profit of ?88.7 billion. The company said it booked a ?73.7 billion non-operating loss in the first half.
"Our earnings were hit by the bad business conditions in the electronic devices market," said Emi Takase, a Hitachi spokeswoman. "No more, no less." Hitachi shares have fallen about 17 percent since the beginning of the year. They fell as much as ?44, or 5.1 percent to 823 after the company announced its first-half earnings and ended Japanese trade down 2.3 percent.
Tokyo-based Hitachi, which is cutting jobs at its chip unit, also widened its full-year loss forecast to ?230 billion, 64 percent more than its August estimate of a ?140 billion loss.
The company said it had a first-half loss of ?42.1 billion. That's compared with a ?166.1 billion profit last year.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s