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Panasonic reports $10.2 billion loss for 2012, plasma TV sales fall more than ...

31.12.69

Panasonic released its annual pecuniary results today, and like so many of the old guard in Japan’s technology sector, things aren’t catchy . The company announced that its net loss for fiscal 2012 (the year ending March 31st) amounted to ¥812.8 billion (about $10.2 billion)— an escalating of more than ¥30 billion (about $375 million) from its revised forecast in February . Like every other Japanese metal goods manufacturer this year, Panasonic pointed to the effects of the 3/11 earthquake, flooding in Thailand, and the historically exhilarated yen as major factors affecting its bottom line. In the announcement, the company noted that despite streamlining and tariff-cutting efforts, operating profit (profit before interest, taxes, and depreciation) decreased by 86% over the year.

Extraordinarily hard-hit was Panasonic’s TV business. The company only made 72 percent of the LCD sales and 59 percent of the plasma sales that it did in 2011. Panasonic's directorship knows it has a lot of hurdles to overcome to get back to profitability in 2013, and it’s planning to restructure its TV profession by cutting unprofitable models and focusing on panel production for non-TV products. Also, as part of the company’s "Leafy Transformation 2012" initiative it’s planning to move "from Japan-oriented to globally-oriented," which means we’ll perhaps see more devices like the company’s Eluga handset in the year to come.

Source: The Verge