Sanyo Q1 A/V Sales Up 1%

Tokyo — Coming off a difficult fiscal first quarter, Sanyo Electric reported growth in its Audio/Video Information Communication Equipment segment of 1 percent over the year-ago first three months, hitting $1.7 billion for the period.

Growth in the A/V segment for the three months was due, largely, to an increase in sales of digital cameras, among other products. Sanyo said sales of mobile phones in the first quarter fell below the level of the same period the previous year. With sales of $495.8 million, the batteries segment recorded a 2 percent sales decrease in the first quarter, ended June 30, compared with the same period last year, due to a continued lack of demand for mobile phones and personal computers.

Although the U.S. economy appears to be on the rebound in recent days, according to Sanyo the jury is still out for the eventual revival of the overall business environment. Coming off this assessment, Sanyo recorded overall net sales for the first quarter of $4.23 billion, edging up 1.1 percent, compared with $4.18 billion in the same three months in 2001. Overall operating income in the first quarter increased 2.6 percent, to $124.4 million, compared with $121.2 million in the same period last year. Overall net income, however, dropped 9.8 percent in the first period, down to $29.9 million, compared with $33.2 million year over year.