Panasonic Sees Massive Losses

It was revealed on Friday that Panasonic PC saw losses multiply by ten in Tokyo to 438 yen, or $5 billion. The same period last year, the company saw a 40.7 billion yen loss. It has been a terrible period for Panasonic, which has had to deal with the natural disasters that devastated Japan, as well as a struggling television business. Friday saw the company, which makes Viera TVs and Lumix digital cameras, report huge, record losses of 772.2 billion yen ($9.6 billion), which sit in stark contrast to the impressive 74 billion yen profit it reported a year ago. The losses are also among the worst in Japanese manufacturing history. These numbers come one day after rival company Sony SNE also reported record losses of 457 billion yen ($5.7 billion), its fourth year of losses. Both Panasonic and Sony, which make flat-panel TV sets, have seen that side of its business pummeled to within an inch of its life by Samsung and other Korean companies. It seems obvious that something has to change. Both companies have to evolve if they want to avoid the fate of a business like Kodak. The technology has to evolve to meet consumer's needs or both Panasonic and Sony will soon disappear. The company is feeling positive, forecasting a return to profit by March 2013, at 50 billion yen ($625 million) profit on 8.1 trillion yen ($101 billion) sales, up 3 percent. Unfortunately for PC, it doesn't have gaming to fall back on like SNE; rather, it is looking for growth in areas like solar panel and battery operations. Perhaps it is with that in mind that Panasonic announced on Friday plans for its board of directors to acquire shares of FirePro Systems and to enter into an agreement of subscriptions of allocation of new shares to a third party with its consolidated subsidiary, Anchor Electricals. According to a statement, "The Company has worked to expand its performance in construction-related industries in the Indian market, centering on Anchor. Anchor is a top wiring device manufacturer in India with a robust sales network and brand strength and has built a firm position in electrical construction materials for housing in particular. Going forward, the Company will aim to realize further growth by capital participation in Firepro to expand into "non-residential" areas including offices, buildings, commercial facilities." Panasonic have been brief with their words and in a statement on Friday, simply said that "business conditions deteriorated". That is true, but it is also true for every other company based in Japan. The strong will fight on regardless. Follow me @BCallwood.