Tokyo – Hitachi revised its consolidated business forecast for its fiscal year ending March 31 reducing expected net sales in its Digital Media and Consumer Products division to $8.9 billion, down from the previous forecast of $9 billion made last October.
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.
