News

The first half of the fiscal year has been generally kind to many Japanese electronics manufacturers, most of whom released financial reports at the end of October.

Hitachi's global sales were up 3% for the first six months, to $4.9 billion compared to $4.8 billion during the same period a year earlier. Strong product categories included plasma televisions and optical storage products; Hitachi's Maxell division reported a continuing decline in demand for audio- and videotape. Hitachi posted $47 million in operating income for the six months ended September 30, compared with a loss of $49 million in the same period in 2001.

Hitachi's North American total sales slid 5% in the first half of the year, to $3.5 billion, from $3.7 billion a year ago. The company's North American operations showed $24.8 million in income for the six months, compared with a $123.2 million loss for the same period in 2001. Hitachi expects sales growth of approximately 1% per year for the near future.

Matsushita reported steep gains in the audio/video sector, with second quarter sales for the category up 11%. The Osaka-based manufacturer attributed the increase to growing demand for televisions, camcorders, and DVD players. Matsushita's total sales for the quarter ended September 30 were $4 billion for the three months, up from $3.7 billion in the comparable period last year. Company officials say demand for computer and communications products lessened during the quarter, off by approximately 2%, but A/V equipment sales rose 15% to $7.9 billion, a big leap from the $6.8 billion posted in the same period in 2001.

The company's American sales were up by 1% at the year's halfway point, reaching $4.9 billion, with $88 million reported as operating profit, compared with an operating loss of $15.5 million for the corresponding six months last year. Matsushita's global sales increased over 2001 levels, from $27.6 billion to $27.9 billion. Operating profit hit $372 million, versus a $616.1 million loss posted last year. Matsushita predicts $301.1 million in net profits for the fiscal year.

Pioneer, surprisingly, did not do as well as its competitors, with foreign sales of consumer electronic products down by 6.5% for the quarter. Demand for Pioneer plasma displays is up, but not so for its DVD players, company officials explained. (Most other companies reported increased sales of DVD machines.) Pioneer's sales outside Japan totaled $302.7 million, compared with $324.3 million in the same period a year ago. Pioneer is especially strong in the mobile audio field, with sales of car CD players, head units, and amplifiers up 11.6% for a total of $557.2 million, a big increase from the $500 million posted for the period last year. For the year to date, Pioneer car electronics are up a stunning $15.7%, to $1.2 billion.

The company's North American sales grew by 5% in the six months, rising to $826.3 million, from $787.5 million the prior year, but operating income slumped by 12% to $51.8 million, compared with $58.9 million during 2001. Pioneer projects fiscal year revenue of $5.9 billion, with expected operating income of $252.5 million, an increase over last April's projections of $203.7 million.

JVC's consumer electronics division saw its first-half sales grow by 11.3%, with revenue reaching $2.8 billion compared with $2.5 billion for the first half last year. Strong product categories were DVD players, car audio gear, TVs, video monitors, and digital camcorders. The company's European and American sales declined during the second quarter, but overall international sales increased by 9.8% for the first half on a year-to-date comparison with last year.

Total sales for JVC were $4 billion for the first half, up by 7.6% over the $3.7 billion reported for the same period last year. Operating income reached $72.4 million, compared with a $124.4 million operating loss for the period last year. For the half-year, net income was $11.3 million, compared with 2001's net loss of $165.4 million. JVC projects total sales for the current fiscal year to reach $7.99 billion, a slight gain from the previous year's $7.97 billion, with operating income projected at $162.2 million.

Sony Electronics reported some conflicting results, with second quarter operating income up but sales down. Overall consumer electronics sales for the period were down 3.6%, to $10 billion, as against $10.3 billion in the same quarter last year. Video sales were up by 4.3%, to $1.7 billion, but audio sales were off by 9.9%, at $1.4 billion. The two categories hit $1.4 billion and $1.6 billion, respectively, during the same period in 2001. Televisions were especially successful for Sony, with demand up 11.9% for a sales total of $3.1 billion. The company sold $2.8 billion worth of TVs in the same period last year.

For the six-month period, audio slumped 7.6%, to $2.7 billion from $2.9 billion last year. Sony is a dominant player in the video game business, with a 3.1% sales increase in the second quarter, for a total of $2.1 billion. Video game hardware and software sales grew steadily in both Europe and the US, Sony reported. During its first half-year, Sony posted sales of $28.8 billion, with net income of $830 million. The previous year, Sony had sales of $27.5 billion in the first six months, and a net loss of $348.4 million. The electronics giant predicts $61 billion in total sales worldwide for the fiscal year, revised from a previous estimate of $62 billion.