Pioneer Overseas CE Sales Rise 8.2%

TOKYO— Pioneer's overseas CE revenue increased by 8.2 percent during its first fiscal quarter, hitting $352.9 million, up from $317.5 million, helped by rising sales of plasma displays and DVD recorders, which offset falling sales of DVD players, audio products and cable set-top boxes.

Overall CE sales at Pioneer were flat in its fiscal first quarter, for the period ending June 30, up 1.7 percent to $481.2 million from $460.4 million in the same three months last year.

The operating loss for the first quarter in Pioneer's CE segment narrowed to $34.2 million, down from a loss of $39.3 million in the same three months a year earlier.

In Pioneer's car electronics segment, fiscal first-quarter overseas sales jumped 8.8 percent to $437.3 million from $391.1 million year-on-year, due mainly to the growth of car navigation systems in North America.

Overall first-quarter car electronics sales increased 6.4 percent, reaching $736.6 million, up from $673.7 million in the same three months a year ago.

However, operating income for the car electronics segment decreased nearly 21 percent during the first three months, down to $56.4 million from $71.3 million in the same period in 2003.

Consolidated Pioneer sales climbed 7.2 percent in the first quarter, hitting $1.5 billion, up from $1.4 billion year-over-year.

Operating income, however, decreased nearly 35 percent to $46.3 million, down from $69.2 million in the first three months of the previous year. Net income was nearly cut in half, sliding 49 percent to $13.9 million in the first quarter, from a year-over-year $26.5 million.

The drop in income, despite increased sales, was due primarily to increased competition and adverse effects of a stronger yen vs. major currencies. The average value of the yen was up 7.9 percent against the U.S. dollar and 1.8 percent against the euro in the three months.