Panasonic, Hitachi post massive losses

Author: Gareth Halfacree
Published: 18th May 2009
Comments (4) Stumble
Panasonic, Hitachi post massive losses

Panasonic's leaders aren't optimistic about the coming financial years, but have a plan to weather the storm.

Sony might have posted some impressive losses in its most recent financial filing, but that's nothing compared to the poor year that Panasonic has just finished.

As reported over on BetaNews, the Japanese electronics giant has posted an incredible loss of $4.68 billion (£3.08 billion) in its most recent financial filing – some four times the losses posted by Sony which sent shockwaves through the financial world.

The poor financial showing – which the company blames on a currently poor currency exchange market along with declining sales due to the global financial slowdown, which the company notes rather pointedly started in the United States of America – is bad news for the company, and is a story currently playing out across Japan. The soon-to-be-merged Sanyo posted its own loss of $970 million (£640 million), while rival Hitachi topped the tables with a painful $8.03 billion (£5.3 billion) loss.

The poor showings from traditional money spinners could well prove disastrous for Japan's economy as a whole, and Panasonic isn't too optimistic about the coming years. The company warned investors that it “currently expects to encounter severe conditions because two trends are developing simultaneously. One is the world recession and shrinking demand, and the other is the changes in market structure such as the expanding emerging markets and a demand shift to lower-priced products.”

In order to combat the coming lean times, Panasonic's plan is to “rebuild its management structure thoroughly, as well as [to] make preparations for the next phase of development and growth simultaneously.”

Does the struggling Japanese economy spell disaster for the tech sector worldwide, or is this an opportunity for the UK to head to the forefront of technology manufacturing? Share your thoughts over in the forums.
Quote [USRF]Obiwan 18th May 2009, 12:55
We should sue all american banks for their incompetence. It's a real butterfly effect going on here. Some banker morons in USA f*ck up the whole world economy. They should be hanged on the highest pole. Instead they award the banks with more money. Its a bloody shame...
Quote perplekks45 18th May 2009, 15:04
Would you rather have more than 50m unemployed people in the US alone?

Anyways, it's not that shocking when you compare it to Lloyd's or RBS.
Yet it's still bad to see all those big ones fall. Less profit, less money for R&D, less toys for us. ;)
Quote sear 19th May 2009, 04:57
Not to mention that these days it seems Samsung is completely owning the consumer electronics market. I don't think I've even seen a Panasonic or Hitachi television in months.
Quote barack 19th May 2009, 05:27
recession has hurted everyone which seemed to be biggies in buisness before and after all most effected sector from this recession is I.T. sector that's why the panasonic is in trouble.And as far as head of the technolgy concerns, UK can't overtake easily as japan is not dependent upon panasonic or upon few brands only.
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