Sharp Reports Lower Sales, Net Loss

Steve Smith -- TWICE, 2/1/2012

Osaka, Japan - Sharp Electronics reported double-digit decreases in net sales and operating profit and a net loss for the three quarters, ended Dec. 31, 2011.

While the Japanese economy showed a "partial recovery" from the Great East Japan Earthquake, Sharp noted that conditions remain "extremely severe" due to the supply-chain disruption due to the Thailand floods, the appreciation of the yen, and lackluster economic conditions in the U.S. and Europe, as well as slower growth in China.

Sharp reported net sales of 1,903.6 billion yen, down 18.3 percent year on year, and operating income of 9.1 billion yen, down 86.3 percent compared with the prior year. Sharp's net loss for the period was 213.5 billion yen, compared with the prior year's net profit of 21.8 billion yen.

In sales by product group, consumer/information products were 1,273.9 billion yen in the first nine months of the year, down 17.5 percent. Operating income was 55.8 billion yen, down 14.9 percent.

Audio/visual and communications equipment, which includes LCD TVs, had sales of 851.2 billion yen, down 25.4 percent compared with the prior year. Operating income was 11.3 percent, down 69.1 percent.

In the electronic components group, where Sharp sells LCD panels to outside consumers, sales were 583 billion yen, down 25.5 percent. LCDs had an operating loss of 13.7 billion yen, compared with a profit of 6 billion yen in the prior year.

For the fiscal year that ends March 31, 2012, Sharp has revised its forecasts: Net sales will be 2,550 billion yen, down 250 billion yen from the previous forecast; operating income will be flat, compared with a profit of 85 billion yen; and it will have a net loss of 290 billion yen, down from the previously forecasted net profit of 6 billion yen.