OSAKA (Kyodo) Panasonic Corp. is expected to report a consolidated net loss of tens of billions of yen for the 2008 business year, its first loss in six years, due to the stronger yen and a shrinking consumer electronics market, industry sources said Wednesday.
The fortunes of Panasonic, formerly Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., have changed dramatically since business 2007, when its group net profit rose to a record ¥281.88 billion.
The economic slump has prompted the top Japanese consumer electronics maker to shut down three overseas manufacturing bases, and restructuring costs are expected to contribute to the first loss since fiscal 2002, the sources said.
The bleak forecast comes at a time when many Japanese electronics makers are expected to post losses.
Among them, Sony Corp. said on Jan. 22 it expects to book a record group operating loss of ¥260 billion for its business year to March. Toshiba Corp. is also expected to fall into the red with an operating loss of more than ¥100 billion and Hitachi Ltd. may follow suit, the sources said.
In its initial outlook for the current business year to March, Osaka-based Panasonic had estimated its group net profit would expand 10 percent to ¥310 billion. But it slashed the estimated profit to ¥30 billion in November and is now expected to see a loss as the worldwide economic dive takes a toll on its key business.
To improve its profit structure, Panasonic will consolidate three factories in Malaysia into one by shutting down two plants making electronic devices. It will also close a battery factory in the Philippines in March and transfer the operations to a factory in Indonesia.
Panasonic and other Japanese electronics giants experienced a difficult yearend shopping season in 2008 as retail prices of major digital consumer electronic products like flat-panel TVs saw a drastic fall.