Tokyo – Strong sales of plasma TVs played a key role in helping the home electronics segment at Pioneer pull down an 8.4 percent fiscal third quarter sales increase, to $639.4 million in the year-ago period.
Operating income for the home electronics segment about trebled, hitting $28.5 million in the third quarter, ended Dec. 31, compared with $9.5 million in the same three months in 2001.
Overseas sales for Pioneer’s electronics business climbed 4.5 percent in the third quarter, reaching $435.9 million, up from $422.6 million in the same quarter the previous year.
Car electronics segment sales were flat in the third quarter, coming in at $541.6 million for the three months, compared with about $540 million in the same quarter in 2001.
Operating income for the car business hit $38.1 million in the third quarter, compared with $25.8 million year over year.
Overseas sales for the car segment also were about flat, registering $318 million for the third period, up from $317.1 million in the year-ago three months.
For the nine months, home electronics segment revenue reached $1.5 billion, a 7.9 percent increase, compared with the $1.4 billion registered in the previous year. However, the segment recorded an operating loss of $3.4 million for the nine months, but down substantially from an operating loss of $84 million in the first nine months of 2001.
Car electronics, for the nine months, enjoyed a 10.5 percent revenue increase, moving up to $1.8 billion, compared with $1.6 billion in the year-ago period. Operating income for the car business came in at $177.3 million for the nine months, up from $117 million in 2001.
Consolidated third quarter revenue at Pioneer increased 8.5 percent, to $1.6 billion, up from $1.5 billion in the year-ago three months. Net income for the period more than doubled, to $67.2 million, compared with $26.8 million in 2001.
For the nine months, consolidated Pioneer revenue increased 9.3 percent, hitting $4.4 billion, up from the $4.1 billion registered in the same nine months the previous year. Net income moved up to $115 million, compared with $67.5 million year over year.
Pioneer predicts the same revenue for the full fiscal year ending in March that it forecast back in October, $6.1 billion. The company said sales of compact stereo systems were not as good as expected, whereas sales of its main product lines, such as plasma displays, DVD recorders and car navigation systems, were doing well. In the previous fiscal year, the company notched $5.6 billion in revenue.
Due to healthy car electronics and DVD-R/RW drive businesses, Pioneer has revised upward its net income expectations for the current fiscal year, to $126.6 million, from the $105.5 million offered last October. Net income for the previous fiscal year was $67.9 million.
