Tokyo — Lower sales of digital still cameras, phones, information products and certain major appliances created an $87.5 million loss for the Sanyo Electric consumer group during the fiscal year, ended March 31.
During the previous fiscal year the group had operating income of $287.1 million.
Net sales for the group during the year hit $10.2 billion, down from the previous fiscal year’s total of $10.2 billion, Sanyo reported.
The company’s battery business, part of the component group, was a bright spot with higher sales and earnings. Fiscal year 2005 sales in batteries reached $3.71 billion, $300 million higher than the previous year. Operating income for the category was $316.5 million, a $140.1 million gain.
North American sales across all categories — consumer, commercial and component products — reached $3.19 billion vs. the previous year’s $3.09 billion.
Corporately across all categories the company reported a net loss of $1.86 billion, $300 million more than the previous year. Sales for the fiscal year fell to $21.9 billion from the prior year’s $22.7 billion. Quarterly financial results were not provided by the company.
