Tokyo – Toshiba’s Digital Media segment, which includes sales of CE products and PCs, decreased 7 percent in the company’s fiscal first half dipping to $5.68 billion.
While falling prices hit all product sectors, said Toshiba, sales of PCs in overseas markets dipped, demand for DVD players slowed and sales of cellular phones fell back in the United States. The company said PC peripherals recorded growth, and there was growing demand for color televisions in overseas markets.
Operating income for the first half in the Digital Media segment dropped $219.2 million over the six months, hitting a loss of $93 million, compared with a gain of $311.7 million in the same period last year. This reflects severe price competition in the global PC market, according to Toshiba.
In the first half, Toshiba and its consolidated companies experienced a larger than anticipated decline in sales and profit.
Stung by the triple whammy of a sharp downturn in the U.S. economy at the end of 2000, subsequent sluggish demand in the global IT business and an unexpected falling away in demand for electronics devices such as semiconductors for digital products, Toshiba said consolidated net sales decreased 11 percent. This hit about $21.1 billion in the first half, compared to the year-ago period, while the company reported a net loss of $1.04 billion in the first half, compared to the same six months last year.
Looking at all of fiscal 2001, Toshiba is projecting sales of $12.58 billion in its Digital Media segment, compared with $12.38 billion in fiscal 2000. Operating income for the segment is forecast at $8.3 million, compared with $155.6 million in fiscal 2000.
Overall Toshiba consolidated net sales for fiscal 2001 are forecast at $45.56 billion, an 8 percent decrease from the previous fiscal year. The company is forecasting a consolidated net loss of $1.67 billion.
