Panasonic misses profit goal by 90%
Posted
Dec 02 2008, 01:45 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Slashing your annual profit forecast by 90%? Oh yeah, it's that bad for Panasonic.
The electronics company said it's being hurt by slow sales, a strong yen and the massive discounting taking place across the industry. Now, Panasonic is predicting it will only make a $316 million profit for the year ending in March -- down from its earlier estimate of $3.3 billion.
Panasonic lowered its sales forecast as well, saying that business conditions are deteriorating sharply. Analysts, after picking their jaws up from the floor, tore up their earlier ratings on the company.
"Even such a successful company as Panasonic can't weather this harsh economic environment," said one asset manager, according to Bloomberg.
Panasonic is trying to sell 11 million flat-panel televisions this year, but said it may miss that goal. The company is now in restructure mode, consolidating factories and closing money-losing operations, according to Reuters.
