Hitachi Records Big Loss For Latest Fiscal Year

Hitachi

Nearly all Japanese electronics companies are suffering serious losses, battered at home by a 10-year slowdown and no longer able to rely on exports to boost growth because of the global downturn.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, the chip maker Hitachi posted a group loss of 483.84 billion yen in contrast to a profit of 104.1 billion a year earlier.

Sales slipped 5 percent to 7.994 trillion yen ($62.5 billion) from 8.417 trillion yen a year earlier.

In February, Hitachi revised its earning forecast downward, blaming restructuring costs and weak sales of computer chips and displays, electronics materials, and telecommunications equipment. It also cited lower revenues from construction machinery and industrial equipment.

Hitachi said Friday that it expects improvement this fiscal year through March 2003, predicting it will turn a group net profit of 60 billion yen ($469 million) in sales of 8.1 trillion yen ($63.3 billion).

In February, Hitachi said it planned to slash its work force by 20,930 employees, or 6 percent, by June to around 317,000.

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