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Harman Reports Lower Sales, Losses In FY, Q4

Stamford, Conn.
– Harman International reported lower sales and net losses in its fiscal year
and fourth quarter, ended June 30.

Net sales for the
year were $2.9 billion, a decrease of 30 percent compared with the prior year. Net
loss for the year was $422.6 million, compared with a net profit of $107.8
million in the prior year.

Net sales for the
fourth quarter were $668 million, a 37 percent decrease compared with $1.1
billion for the same period last year. The net loss for the quarter was $62.4
million, compared with a net profit of $31.7 million in the prior year’s final
quarter.

Consumer net sales
in fiscal 2009 were $356.5 million, a decrease of 31 percent – or 28 percent
when adjusted for constant currency compared to the prior year.

The operating loss
for the year was $50 million, compared with the prior year’s loss of $4
million.

Net sales in the
fourth quarter were $70 million, a decrease of 37 percent – or 33 percent when
adjusted for constant currency compared to the prior year. Lower sales were
attributable to the severe economic downturn in the Americas
and Europe as well as elimination of the personal
navigation device business in the consumer division.

The operating loss
during the quarter was $8 million slightly higher than the $6 million loss of
the prior year.

In its statement,
the company said that during the fiscal fourth quarter, the Harman consumer
division made “significant strides in strengthening its brand marketing and
channels to market.” Harman’s JBL brand expanded its retail presence with its
co-branded Roxy headphone line in the Target store chain.

Marketing
initiatives during the quarter focused on continued expansion of the AKG
consumer product line in the U.S.,
including a retail agreement with Airport Wireless stores. AKG also launched a
redesigned Web site, a dedicated shopping portal on Amazon.com, and a social
media campaign on networking sites including Facebook and YouTube. Harman’s
successful partnership with Apple continued to expand with new co-marketing
campaigns for iPhone models and Harman headphones in Asia,
and AKG headphones featured on Apple’s European e-commerce site.

“Despite the
continued global economic challenges, I am impressed by the major progress we
are seeing in our key operational initiatives,” said Dinesh C. Paliwal,
Harman’s chairman, president and CEO. “The cost savings and operational
excellence initiatives that we launched in June 2008 are ahead of target in
delivering sustainable benefits. We have successfully delivered without
exception on a record number of major automotive projects, despite significant
market challenges. Building upon this successful track record, we are now in
advanced discussions with key automakers to finalize several significant awards
in the near future.”

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