Pioneer Overseas Car Audio Sales Drop

By Jeff Malester -- TWICE, 7/31/2003

Tokyo - Pioneer's largest product segment, car electronics, continued to carry the company in its first fiscal quarter, especially with increasing sales in Japan.

This happened despite overseas category dollar volume dropping 9.8 percent, to $361.6 million, from $400.2 million year-on-year, primarily due to decreased sales of car audio in North America.

Overall car electronics segment sales at Pioneer were off 2 percent in the first quarter, ended June 30, down to $622.8 million, compared with $633.4 million in the year-ago period.

The home electronics segment, Pioneer's second largest, suffered a 16.7 percent drop in overseas sales, down to $208.9 million in the first three months, compared with $250.1 million in the same quarter a year ago. Pioneer blamed much of the decrease on lower sales of audio products and plasma displays in North America.

Overall home electronics segment sales declined 16.5 percent in the first reporting period, to $316.6 million, down from $378.3 million in the first quarter of 2002.

Just as car electronics revenue added support to Pioneer's first quarter financials, operating income in this category showed positive results in the period, climbing 1.3 percent, to $65.8 million, from $65 million year over year.

Home electronics, on the other hand, widened its operating loss in the first quarter, to $55.1 million, from an operating loss of $11.2 million in the first quarter of last year.

The company reported consolidated net revenue, including sales and royalties, of $1.3 billion, a 4 percent drop from the $1.4 billion recorded in the same three months a year earlier.

Higher consolidated operating income in the first quarter was achieved, despite decreased net sales, reflecting lowered selling, general and administrative expenses and increased profit from the company's patent licensing segment. Consolidated operating income jumped 7.7 percent, reaching $63 million, up from $58.4 million in the first quarter of 2002.

A decrease in foreign exchange loss in the first quarter, along with an increase in operating profit, helped Pioneer boost its consolidated net income 9.1 percent, to $24.5 million, compared with $22.4 million in the same three months a year ago.