Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Technology
Media
Small Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Social Pulse
Business Video
The Freeland File
Aerospace & Defense
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
India Insight
World Video
Reuters Investigates
Decoder
Politics
Politics Home
Election 2012
Campaign Polling
Tales from the Trail
Political Punchlines
Supreme Court
Politics Video
Tech
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Tech Tonic
Social Pulse
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
John Lloyd
Felix Salmon
Jack Shafer
David Rohde
Bernd Debusmann
Nader Mousavizadeh
Lucy P. Marcus
David Cay Johnston
Bethany McLean
Anatole Kaletsky
Edward Hadas
Hugo Dixon
Ian Bremmer
Lawrence Summers
Susan Glasser
The Great Debate
Steven Brill
Jack & Suzy Welch
Frederick Kempe
Christopher Papagianis
Mark Leonard
Breakingviews
Equities
Credit
Private Equity
M&A
Macro & Markets
Politics
Breakingviews Video
Money
Money Home
Tax Break
Lipper Awards 2012
Global Investing
MuniLand
Unstructured Finance
Linda Stern
Mark Miller
John Wasik
James Saft
Analyst Research
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Money Clip
Investing 201
Life
Olympics
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Reuters TV
Reuters News
Article
Comments (0)
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Obama warns of economic "headwinds," sees euro surviving
30 Jul 2012
Aleppo rebels say they stand firm in "regime's grave"
|
2:37am EDT
Jury selected in Apple, Samsung patent trial
30 Jul 2012
Olympics fans find ways to circumvent NBC's online control
30 Jul 2012
WRAPUP 2-Aleppo rebels say they stand firm in 'regime's grave'
1:29am EDT
Discussed
92
Romney backs Israel if needs to strike Iran: aide says
74
Syria sends armored column to Aleppo, strikes from air
72
U.S. fears Syria preparing for massacre in Aleppo
Sponsored Links
Pictures
Reuters Photojournalism
Our day's top images, in-depth photo essays and offbeat slices of life. See the best of Reuters photography. See more | Photo caption
Olympic best
Our top photos from the London 2012 Olympic Games. Slideshow
Olympic tattoos
Athletes' tattoos are sported during the Games. Slideshow
Panasonic reaps profit gain, set to streamline further
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Related News
Japan's Hitachi first-quarter beats forecast, warns of China pain
Mon, Jul 30 2012
Smartphones power record Samsung profit of $5.9 billion during Apple lull
Fri, Jul 27 2012
Nomura CEO quits as insider trading scandal widens
Thu, Jul 26 2012
Nikkei bounces on short covering but euro worries sink Canon
Thu, Jul 26 2012
Canon cuts profit outlook, signals euro pain for Japan Inc
Wed, Jul 25 2012
Analysis & Opinion
Chinese IP awareness, sown by West, bruises Apple
Related Topics
Tech »
A man looks at Panasonic Corp's Viera televisions displayed at an electronic store in Tokyo June 27, 2012.
Credit: Reuters/Yuriko Nakao
By Tim Kelly
TOKYO |
Tue Jul 31, 2012 4:09am EDT
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Panasonic Corp reaped a near sevenfold gain in quarterly profit after slashing costs, and its new boss looks set to use that extra cash for a new round of layoffs and business restructuring to revive the electronics giant.
Founded in 1918, the struggling maker of Viera TVs posted a record net loss in the last fiscal year, knocked down by fierce competition from overseas rivals such as Samsung Electronics.
After taking over Panasonic in June, Kazuhiro Tsuga vowed to turn the company's focus to white goods such as fridges and washing machines from television sets, and move production to overseas factories.
"It is easier for them to obtain profits than before (after a round of restructuring), but it is too soon to say from one quarter that Panasonic now has a structure to generate profits," said Takashi Oba, senior strategist at Okasan Securities.
Panasonic on Tuesday posted a first-quarter operating profit of 38.6 billion yen ($493.67 million), in line with estimates by analysts.
The company kept its forecast for full-year operating profit to rise to 260 billion yen from 43.7 billion yen, in part because it has stopped selling TV sets at a loss.
The company also eked out 12.81 billion yen in first-quarter net income, following a 772 billion-yen loss in the 12 months to March 31.
The first-quarter results are ahead of the company's expectations, but weak markets such as Europe and the United States as well of a slowdown in emerging economies remain a concern, CFO Hideaki Kawai told reporters after the earnings announcement.
Panasonic expects to sell 15.5 million TV sets this business year, 2 million fewer than a year earlier.
MORE TO DO
The sprawling electronics giant, which cut its workforce by 36,000 people last year, or about 10 percent of its staff, is not out of peril, say investors. Amid a weak global economy and the ongoing sunset of a TV business squeezed by intense competition, Panasonic has to do more to revive its fortunes.
"Their outlook doesn't suggest a solid turnaround is under way. It continues to be tough for them," said Makoto Kikuchi, CEO of Myojo Asset Management in Tokyo, speaking ahead of the earnings release.
Tsuga agrees that action is needed for Panasonic to make it to its centenary. In the past four years, the company's combined losses have mounted to more than $15 billion while its market value has slumped more than 80 percent to less than $16 billion.
At the start of the business year on April 1, Panasonic earmarked 41 billion yen for fresh restructuring this term. Tsuga, in his first sit-down with the foreign press as the company's president on July 12, said that bill may rise, which in turn would erode profits.
Even after last year's job losses, Tsuga inherited a company that remains Japan's largest corporate employer with 330,000 workers.
TURNAROUND PLAN
The former head of Panasonic's audio visual unit has vowed to shutter or sell the parts of Panasonic that are not contributing to the bottom line. Tsuga has said he would deliver the framework of that revival plan to investors at the end of the current quarter.
Panasonic, for a short time at least, may have to accept diminished revenue, Tsuga warned then, as it retools to fill in the earnings gap left by TVs with sales from household appliances, batteries, solar panels and other gadgets.
Tsuga, who burnished his cost-cutting reputation during a three-year stint in charge of automotive components, said earlier this month he would complete his roadmap by February.
He plans to fire the first salvo in his restructuring campaign, however, in October by reducing workers at Panasonic's headquarters to several hundred from 7,000, although many of those people will be dispersed to other business units rather than laid off.
Panasonic's shares, which have fallen nearly 30 percent since the start of the business year compared with a 15 percent decline in the benchmark Topix index, finished the day 4.6 percent higher at 546 yen.
($1 = 78.1900 Japanese yen)
(Reporting by Tim Kelly; Editing by Ryan Woo and Edmund Klamann)
Tech
Related Quotes and News
Company
Price
Related News
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Support
Corrections
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
AdChoices
Copyright
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.