■Mobile phones
Nokia's sales may rise
Nokia Oyj's sales growth will probably accelerate this quarter, from a 2 percent rise in the previous three months, as the world's largest mobile-phone maker grabs market share from rivals, investors said. The company today is expected to repeat its October forecast for sales growth of 2 percent to 5 percent and earnings excluding some costs of US$0.23 (US$0.23) to US$0.25 a share in the period, analysts said. That compares with US$0.24 a share a year ago. Sales at Nokia, which makes almost two in every five phones sold, rose last quarter for the first time in 15 months. The stock has surged in the past four months on optimism the more than 30 models Nokia introduced this year will help it widen the gap with Motorola Inc and other rivals. This quarter will depend a lot on consumer demand during the holiday gift season, investors said.
■ Solar Battery
Sanyo begins production
Sanyo Electric Co, whose shares have declined 48 percent this year, said it will begin producing solar batteries at a factory in Mexico next year, to expand sales in the growing North American market. Production will begin in the summer of 2003 at Sanyo Electric's Monterrey, Mexico plant, where it makes rechargeable batteries, the No.1 maker of cell-phone batteries said. The Osaka-based company will invest Japanese Yen 250 million (US$2 million) to produce the solar panels. The battery component of the solar panels will continue to be produced and shipped from Japan. Solar-power use, especially in the US, is growing following power shortages in California two years ago that lasted for months. Sharp Corp, the world's largest maker of solar panels, said last month it will start making panels at its plant in Tennessee by April next year.
■ Server Processor
AMD has faster product
Advanced Micro
Devices Inc will start shipping a faster chip for computer workstations and servers as Intel Corp's biggest rival in making computer processors tries to stay competitive. Advanced Micro's Athlon MP 2400+ will deliver 19 percent better performance than Intel's 2.4GHz Xeon processor, Advanced Micro spokeswoman Duyen Truong said. The chips will sell beginning tomorrow for US$228 apiece in 1,000-unit quantities, about the same price as Intel's 2.4GHz Xeon. The server market has become increasingly important for Advanced Micro, Mercury Research analyst Dean McCarron said. Sales of server chips have held steady over the past several quarters as revenue from products for personal computers fell, he said.
■ US retailers
Kmart to restate results
Kmart Corp, the largest US retailer to file for bankruptcy protection, will restate financial results for at least three years because of errors found during an internal review of accounting practices. The discount retailer will make adjustments for some leases, the accounting of inventory and transactions with suppliers. The company's losses for the six months ended July 31 will narrow by US$100 million and reported net income or losses in prior years will be adjusted by a comparable amount, CFO Albert Koch said during a conference call. It's the second restatement since Kmart began reviewing events that helped push it into bankruptcy in January.
Agencies
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