Mainichi reports that Canon’s October-December profit is up 34% thanks to strong digital camera sales and the dollar-yen exchange rate. Cost-cutting, copier and camera sales, and rapid introduction of new products also contributed to the strong earnings.
Nintendo announced strong third-quarter profits, thanks largely to strong Nintendo DS software sales. Like Sony however, much of the earnings performance can be attributed to favorable dollar-yen exchange rates.
Nintendo also announced a revised design for their Nintendo DS handheld, dubbed “Nintendo DS Lite,” to be released this March in Japan.
Despite the torrent of bad news Sony Corp. has faced in recent months, today’s revised earnings forecast shifted yearly earnings through March 31 in a positive direction: from losses of ¥10 billion (US $86 million) to gains of ¥70 billion (US $600 million). Still, the turnaround may be more attributable to the weak yen and strong Japanese stock market performance than to any factors within Sony, according to reports. Sony is still in the middle of a massive restructuring plan, and announced today that their AIBO and QRIO robots will soon cease production.
The Japan Times has the story, while Business Week provides some additional analysis (albeit before the official announcement by Sony).
I cannot do better than the first sentence of this Financial Times report to summarize the whole story:
Winter bonuses at Japanese companies are rising at the fastest pace since 1991, providing further evidence that corporate profits are finally feeding through into wages.
On the tail of Sanyo’s huge losses and subsequent plans to deal with unprofitable elements of the company, Sanyo has announced a 5 percent salary cut for employees of the company and subsidiaries, according to Asahi Shimbun. About 40 executives will get hefty compensation cuts as well, and 10,000 jobs at Sanyo’s group companies will be cut by January.
In response to huge estimated losses, Sanyo plans to greatly reduce the size of its television and appliance operations, reports Kyodo News and The Japan Times. The company may also spin off or sell its semiconductor division, the most unprofitable part of the company.
Sanyo is expected to forecast a net loss of ¥230 billion (US $1.93 billion) for this year, an increase from ¥140 billion in September, which was again an increase from ¥92 billion in April. Executive Director Satoshi Iue, the son of the company’s founder, is expected to resign to take responsibility for the company’s losses. The full story is available from Reuters and The Japan Times.
Reuters reports that Vodafone’s revenue in Japan fell 5% from April-September despite a slight 0.4% increase in sales.
AFX News reports that Nikon posted a net profit of ¥9.37 billion (US $80 million) in the first half of September, up from ¥7.81 billion (US $67 million) a year ago, thanks to a surge in sales of its high-end digital cameras.
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