Pioneer Reports Q2 Overseas Sales Drop 6.5%

TOKYO— Increased worldwide sales of plasma displays for home use, combined with growing volume of digital cable television set-top boxes in the United States, did not offset a substantial decrease in sales of DVD players in North America during Pioneer's fiscal second quarter.

This led to the company reporting a 6.5 percent decrease in overseas sales for its home electronics division during the three months, ended Sept. 30, down to $302.7 million, compared with $324.3 million in the year-ago period. Home electronics primarily includes audio/ video equipment, digital broadcast set-top boxes and home telephones.

However, overall sales of home electronics edged up 1.1 percent in the second quarter, hitting $417 million, compared with $413.2 million in the same three months in 2001.

Car audio products, mainly car CD players, propelled Pioneer's car electronics division to a 9.9 percent overseas sales increase in the second quarter, reaching $356.5 million, up from $324.9 million in the same quarter in 2001.

Overall sales of car electronics in the second quarter jumped 11.6 percent, hitting $557.2 million, up from $500 million in the year-ago three months.

For the six months, Pioneer overseas sales of home electronics dropped 2.8 percent, to $548.4 million, compared with $563.8 million in the same period last year. Overall six-month sales of home electronics, however, increased 7.5 percent, to $788.5 million, up from $629.3 million the previous year.

Overseas sales of car electronics climbed 19.1 percent in the six months, reaching $749.4 million, up from $629.3 million in the same period in 2001. Overall car electronics sales rose 15.7 percent in the six months, to $1.2 billion, up from $1 billion in the same timeframe last year.

Pioneer sales to North America increased nearly 5 percent in the six months, rising to $826.3 million, from $787.5 million the previous year. Operating income, however, dropped 12 percent, to $51.8 million in the six months, compared with $58.9 million year over year.

Consolidated second quarter operating revenue at Pioneer moved up 2.6 percent, hitting $1.4 billion, compared with $1.3 billion the previous year.

Operating income soared 17.4 percent in the second quarter, mainly due to increased sales and decreased advertising, to $51.7 million, up from $44.1 million in the same quarter last year.

Net income climbed 63.4 percent in the second three months, reaching $24.1 million, up from $14.8 million year-on-year. This mainly resulted from, in addition to increased operating income, foreign exchange gains and a lower ratio of income taxes to pre-tax income, despite increased equity in losses of affiliated companies.

For the six months, consolidated operating revenue increased 9.8 percent, to $2.7 billion, compared with $2.5 billion in the same period in 2001. Operating income increased 32.4 percent, reaching $114 million, up from $86.1 million in the same period last year. Net income jumped 17.4 percent in the six months, to $46.1 million, compared with $39.3 million year over year.