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Recent financial reports from the consumer electronics industry are all over the map, with some manufacturers reporting declines while others report gains. Sony and Samsung have both posted losses, but Toshiba and JVC made money. Pioneer is holding steady.

Sony's annual report—many electronics manufacturers end their fiscal year on March 31—cites a 6.5% decline in consumer electronics sales, but an increase in operating income. A drop in demand for Sony VAIO computers and Aiwa home entertainment products contributed to a smaller sales total for the year: $41.2 billion, a substantial drop from the $44 billion posted in the previous year. Sales to the US dropped 2.3% to $20 billion, from $20.5 billion the previous year, and Sony's US operating revenue went down 16.3% to $4 billion, from $4.8 billion a year earlier.

The declines didn't damage Sony's overall bottom line for the year, however. The Tokyo-based conglomerate's consumer electronics division reported operating income of $345 million compared with a loss of $9.6 million the previous year, due in part to corporate restructuring. Sony's audio sales went down 8.7% to $5.7 billion, from $6.2 billion the previous year, while video sales for the year rose 2.1% to $6.9 billion, from $6.7 billion. Big sellers included flat-panel and large-screen televisions, and digital still cameras.

Unlike other electronics companies, Sony also has heavyweight entertainment divisions, Sony Pictures and Sony Music, that made their own contributions. Sony's film division enjoyed a 26.3% gain in revenue for the 12 months, totaling $6.7 billion, from $5.3 billion the previous year, with operating income reaching $491 million, an amazing 88.6% increase over the $260.2 million for the previous year. Sony Music posted a 1% drop in revenue from the previous year, $5.30 billion vs $5.34 billion, not bad given the general state of the music industry. Sony Music reported a $72 million loss for the year, compared to income of $168 million a year earlier.

Korean electronics giant Samsung reported a 20% decline for its consumer electronics division for the first fiscal quarter. Samsung's sales of computers, DVD players, and televisions dropped to $1.6 billion from the $2 billion recorded in the first quarter last year. Operating income was $83.1 million, a sharp drop from the $153.1 million posted in the first three months of 2002. By contrast, Samsung enjoyed a 28% rise in its telecommunications division, which includes mobile phones. Sales totaled $2.8 billion in the first three months, up from $2.2 billion in the same quarter a year ago. Samsung is one of the world's leaders in mobile phones, deriving 35% of its corporate revenue from that product niche in the first quarter.

Riding the digital video wave, Toshiba’s consumer electronics division saw a 13% sales gain for its fiscal year ended March 31. Big sellers for Toshiba included computers and computer accessories and DVD recorders, contributing to a sales total for the year of $13.8 billion, up from $12.2 billion the previous year. Operating income was $77.7 million, compared with a year-earlier operating loss of $14.9 million. The company's North American sales were up 4% for the year, hitting $7.2 billion, from $6.9 billion in the previous 12 months. Toshiba execs said they plan to push harder in areas that have proved successful for them recently, particularly in the digital media arena.

JVC's consumer sales declined in the US last year, but rose elsewhere for an overall increase of 5.2%, with big gains in DVD players, car audio, and projection television sets and declines in sales of software, video games, and music products. The company's CE sales total for the year reached $5.63 billion, up from $5.35 billion in the preceding 12 months, with revenue from consolidated businesses totaling $8.06 billion, a 1.4% increase from $7.95 billion in the previous year. JVC is projecting a 3% increase in revenue, or $8.3 billion in sales, for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2004.

Pioneer Electronics posted even results, with domestic (within Japan) CE sales of $1.30 billion for the year ended March 31, a slight drop from last year's $1.31 billion total. Foreign CE sales grew 6.2% to $1.9 billion, up from $1.8 billion in the preceding period. Pioneer enjoyed a nice boost in its automotive electronics sales, with a 9.1% increase to $2.3 billion, due largely to demand for car CD players. Operating income for Pioneer's automotive division jumped 62% to $217.8 million, from $134 million the previous year. As with most other companies with strong video display lines, Pioneer is also doing well with flat-panel televisions. The company predicts a 7% increase in revenue for the coming year, with a projected sales total of $6.3 billion.