Panasonic Corp., the world’s largest maker of plasma televisions, may
turn its money-losing TV operations profitable in the year ending March
2011, helped by cost-reductions and sales of 3-D sets.
Outsourcing production of small liquid-crystal-display TV panels will also likely help earnings at the business, President Fumio Ohtsubo told reporters in Tokyo today.
The TV operations, the biggest among Panasonic products by revenue, had a loss of more than 10 billion yen ($113 million) in the quarter ended Dec. 31, Makoto Uenoyama, director in charge of finance, said last month. The company joins Sony Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. in counting on 3-D technology to help restore growth to the TV business.
“It’ll probably be hard for Panasonic and other manufacturers to improve earnings from TVs because LCD makers have aggressive production plans for 2010, possibly leading to price declines,” said Kazuharu Miura, an analyst at Daiwa Securities Capital Markets Co. “Expansion of 3-D televisions can create an opportunity for them to improve earnings.”
Panasonic, which introduced four 3-D plasma sets last month ranging from 50 inches to 65 inches, will begin shipping 3-D sets in March, the company said in January.
‘Excessive’ Investment Plan
The Osaka-based company plans to reduce further its investment for two TV factories in the cities of Amagasaki and Himeji in western Japan by “several tens of billions” of yen, Ohtsubo said. “We’ve heard some concerns that our plan was excessive and we recognize there’s some truth in that.”
Last year, Panasonic cut its investment plan for the two factories to 445 billion yen by 2012, from a previously intended 580 billion yen. Panasonic makes panels for plasma TVs in Amagasaki and LCD TV panels in Himeji, which is set to start operating in July.
Panasonic must increase revenue in the 12 months ending March 31, 2011, and a net loss won’t be acceptable, Ohtsubo said.
Analysts project the company will recover next fiscal year from back-to-back annual net losses after it cut more than 29,000 jobs and reduced costs by 259 billion yen.
The shares fell 1.5 percent to close at 1,246 yen in Tokyo trading before Ohtsubo’s comments, extending the decline this year to 6 percent. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average has lost 2.8 percent this year.
Panasonic, which completed its 403.8 billion yen purchase of a controlling stake in Sanyo Electric Co. in December, has no plan to make the battery manufacturer a wholly owned unit, Ohtsubo said.
“We don’t reject the idea but we’re not in the stage to consider it now,” he said.
The company has cut its stake in a battery-making venture with Toyota Motor Corp. to below 20 percent, Ohtsubo said, adding Panasonic has no plan to reduce the stake further. Panasonic said in November it would cut its holding to receive Chinese antitrust approval for the purchase of Sanyo
turn its money-losing TV operations profitable in the year ending March
2011, helped by cost-reductions and sales of 3-D sets.
Outsourcing production of small liquid-crystal-display TV panels will also likely help earnings at the business, President Fumio Ohtsubo told reporters in Tokyo today.
The TV operations, the biggest among Panasonic products by revenue, had a loss of more than 10 billion yen ($113 million) in the quarter ended Dec. 31, Makoto Uenoyama, director in charge of finance, said last month. The company joins Sony Corp., Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. in counting on 3-D technology to help restore growth to the TV business.
“It’ll probably be hard for Panasonic and other manufacturers to improve earnings from TVs because LCD makers have aggressive production plans for 2010, possibly leading to price declines,” said Kazuharu Miura, an analyst at Daiwa Securities Capital Markets Co. “Expansion of 3-D televisions can create an opportunity for them to improve earnings.”
Panasonic, which introduced four 3-D plasma sets last month ranging from 50 inches to 65 inches, will begin shipping 3-D sets in March, the company said in January.
‘Excessive’ Investment Plan
The Osaka-based company plans to reduce further its investment for two TV factories in the cities of Amagasaki and Himeji in western Japan by “several tens of billions” of yen, Ohtsubo said. “We’ve heard some concerns that our plan was excessive and we recognize there’s some truth in that.”
Last year, Panasonic cut its investment plan for the two factories to 445 billion yen by 2012, from a previously intended 580 billion yen. Panasonic makes panels for plasma TVs in Amagasaki and LCD TV panels in Himeji, which is set to start operating in July.
Panasonic must increase revenue in the 12 months ending March 31, 2011, and a net loss won’t be acceptable, Ohtsubo said.
Analysts project the company will recover next fiscal year from back-to-back annual net losses after it cut more than 29,000 jobs and reduced costs by 259 billion yen.
The shares fell 1.5 percent to close at 1,246 yen in Tokyo trading before Ohtsubo’s comments, extending the decline this year to 6 percent. Japan’s benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average has lost 2.8 percent this year.
Panasonic, which completed its 403.8 billion yen purchase of a controlling stake in Sanyo Electric Co. in December, has no plan to make the battery manufacturer a wholly owned unit, Ohtsubo said.
“We don’t reject the idea but we’re not in the stage to consider it now,” he said.
The company has cut its stake in a battery-making venture with Toyota Motor Corp. to below 20 percent, Ohtsubo said, adding Panasonic has no plan to reduce the stake further. Panasonic said in November it would cut its holding to receive Chinese antitrust approval for the purchase of Sanyo
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