Hitachi Lowers Fiscal Year CE Sales Forecast

Tokyo— Hitachi has revised its consolidated business forecast for its fiscal year ending March 31, 2002, reducing expected net sales in its Digital Media and Consumer Products division to $8.9 billion, down from the previous forecast of Oct. 20, 2001, which was $9 billion.

Sales for Hitachi's consumer electronics segment the previous year hit $8 billion, 12 percent below anticipated sales for the current fiscal year.

Hitachi has increased its expected operating loss for the Digital Media and Consumer Products division to $128.8 million for the year, up from the $15.2 million operating loss forecast last October. These figures compare with $11.7 million in operating income registered in the same 12 months the previous year.

Consolidated Hitachi sales for the fiscal year now are expected to come in at $59.1 billion, down from the $59.8 billion forecast last October. The new figure is 7 percent below the $63.8 billion in sales reported the previous year.

Hitachi now expects its consolidated operating loss for the 12 months will reach $1.2 billion, compared with the October forecast of a $227.3 million expected loss. For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2001, the company registered $2.6 billion in operating income.

Although overall non-consolidated net sales should come in a bit better than the earlier forecast, a higher operating loss is expected because of the sluggishness in digital media and consumer products.