Matsushita Electric Industrial Co had a fiscal third-quarter loss because of lower mobile-phone sales and job cut costs, prompting the largest consumer-electronics maker to widen its full-year loss forecast.
The maker of Panasonic and National brands had a loss of ?172 billion (US$1.3 billion) in the three months ended Dec. 31, compared with group profit of ?22.8 billion a year ago.
Matsushita said it now expects an annual loss of ?438 billion, an amount that exceeds its total net income for the past five fiscal years.
Sales fell 13 percent to ?1.74 trillion in the third quarter after revenue at its mobile-phone unit declined by more than half. Though President Kunio Nakamura has vowed to turn the company around next fiscal year, investors are skeptical, saying Matsushita needs to drastically revamp unprofitable businesses.
"Matsushita's reforms are way too slow," said Makoto Suzuki, who manages ?15 billion in investments at Chuo Mitsui Asset Management Co, which holds Matsushita shares. "One of the few positive things about the company is that it has room to trim more costs."
For the full year, Matsushita said job cuts, the reorganization of some businesses and the declining value of its stock holdings will cost it about 350 billion yen.
An economic slowdown in Japan, which accounts for almost half of Matsushita's sales, and slower growth in Europe and the US has also led to less demand for the company's semiconductors, electronics and consumer goods.
Matsushita's shares rose ?6, or 0.4 percent, to ?1,518 before the earnings results were announced. They've fallen about 10 percent since the start of the year, compared with a 2 percent decline in the 152-member Topix Electric Appliances Index.
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