Panasonic braces for 2012 loss

Japanese vendor blames combination of restructuring costs and weak European markets for its projected loss

Electronics giant Panasonic has predicted it will make a loss in the current financial year due to a combination of weak sales and spiralling restructuring costs.

The Japanese firm has forecast a net loss of 765bn yen ($9.6bn), compared with an earlier projection of 50bn yen profit.

Group sales for the six months ended 30 September 2012 decreased nine per cent to 3,638bn yen, compared with 4,005bn yen in the same period the previous financial year.

Domestic sales dropped eight per cent and overseas sales fell by 11 per cent.

Part of the reason for the revised results was attributed to the strong yen and a slowing demand for TVs across all regions.

Operating profit for the first six months of the fiscal year increased to 87.4bn yen, up from 47.6bn yen a year ago.

However, pre-tax loss totalled 278.7bn yen, compared with a loss of 159.3bn yen last year. This was attributed to business restructuring costs of 355.5bn yen.

In its financial statement the firm hinted that continued uncertainty in the global economy over the eurozone debt crisis, combined with the slowdown in Asian economies – including China – had dented demand for electronic goods.