Japan's Toshiba Corp plans to take a 100 per cent stake in its struggling liquid crystal display (LCD) joint venture with Panasonic Corp, a source with knowledge of the matter said.
Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology, currently owned 60 per cent by Toshiba and 40 per cent by Panasonic, is the world's second-largest maker of small and midsized LCD panels used in cell phones, car navigation systems and other devices.
Toshiba has decided to buy Panasonic's 40 per cent stake for several billion yen, the source said, confirming an earlier report in the Nikkei business daily.
No one at Toshiba or Panasonic, formerly named Matsushita Electric Industrial, was immediately available for comment.
The source spoke on condition of anonymity because the deal has not yet been made public.
Hit by falling prices and sluggish demand, Toshiba Matsushita Display is expected to post an operating loss of 30 billion yen on sales of 270 billion yen for the financial year ending this month.
Despite the earnings downturn, Toshiba still views the small and midsize display business as an important business and taking a 100 per cent stake will allow it to accelerate decision-making and restructuring, the source said.
Toshiba is planning to cut costs by 300 billion yen in the next business year from April as it braces for its worst-ever annual loss in the year ending this month.
At the same time the deal should allow Panasonic, the world's top maker of plasma TVs, to focus more of its resources on large displays, though it will still hold 25 per cent in another small and midsized LCD venture majority-owned by Hitachi Ltd.
Toshiba Matsushita Display held 10.3 per cent of the global market for small and midsize LCDs in 2008, second only to Sharp Corp's 20.2 per cent share, the Nikkei said, citing figures from research firm DisplaySearch.
The move will mark the latest realignment of the LCD sector.
Earlier this month NEC Corp said it would close a LCD plant in Japan while Sony Corp and Seiko Epson Corp announced that they were considering an alliance in small-sized LCDs.
After making the venture wholly-owned, Toshiba plans to scale back production of amorphous silicon panels, which have been hit hard by sliding prices, and focus on higher-end polycrystalline silicon panels, the Nikkei said.
Agencies
Showing posts with label Nikkei. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nikkei. Show all posts
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Monday, March 23, 2009
Sony freezes salaries, compensations, hikes of employees'
Sony Corp has decided to freeze its workers' salaries for the year starting in April to improve profitability, the financial daily Nikkei said in its Thursday edition.
The paper said workers' bonuses will also be lowered to four months' pay from six months, and annual compensation for managers will be dropped 10 to 20 per cent through wage cuts and 35 to 40 per cent bonus reductions.
"Executives will also be slugged with huge cuts to bonuses and salaries," Nikkei said. Due to the global economic downtown and the strength of the yen, Sony is expected to report a group operating loss of 260 billion yen ($2.65 billion) for the year ending March 31, the paper said.
Agencies
The paper said workers' bonuses will also be lowered to four months' pay from six months, and annual compensation for managers will be dropped 10 to 20 per cent through wage cuts and 35 to 40 per cent bonus reductions.
"Executives will also be slugged with huge cuts to bonuses and salaries," Nikkei said. Due to the global economic downtown and the strength of the yen, Sony is expected to report a group operating loss of 260 billion yen ($2.65 billion) for the year ending March 31, the paper said.
Agencies
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Toyota considers layoff of 1,000 full-time jobs
Toyota Motor Corp is considering cutting more than 1,000 full-time jobs in North America and the United Kingdom to cope with faltering global demand, a news report said on Friday.
The details of the job cuts will likely be finalised by the end of the month, said the Nikkei, Japan's top business daily, citing an unnamed senior company official. Japan's top automaker could slash more jobs in other regions if global auto sales continue to slump, the daily said.
Toyota spokesman Yuta Kaga declined to confirm the report, saying nothing had been decided.
Mike Goss, a spokesman for Toyota's North American manufacturing operations, said Toyota is considering "additional steps" after making several production adjustments in recent months, but no decisions have been finalised.
"Current business conditions are not forcing us to make involuntary reductions of Toyota team members," he said in a written statement.
Hit by the collapse in demand for cars, Toyota is expecting to incur its first operating loss in 70 years. The company on Tuesday tapped Akio Toyoda, grandson of the Japanese automaker's founder, as president, paying homage to its roots amid a deepening global downturn.
The US-educated Toyoda, 52, is the first founding family member to take the helm at the Japanese auto giant in 14 years.
Like other Japanese automakers, Toyota has been reducing temporary workers at its auto plants in Japan to curb production amid the global recession.
Harley said its fourth-quarter profit fell 58 per cent to $77.8 million, or 34 cents per share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with $186.1 million, or 78 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.
Revenue fell 6.8 per cent to $1.29 billion from $1.39 billion in the year-ago quarter.
The results fell short of Wall Street estimates. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected 57 cents per share on sales of $1.29 billion, on average.
Harley said its financial-services division swung to an operating loss of $24.9 million in fourth quarter, hurt by write-downs totaling $63.5 million. The company said it is evaluating ``a range of options'' to provide funding for the ailing Harley-Davidson Financial Services. Many analysts have suggested the lending unit may have to be sold because it has been unable to unload its debt in the financial markets.
For the full year, Harley said its earnings fell 30 per cent to $654.7 million, or $2.79 per share, from $933.8 million, or $3.74 per share, in the same quarter last year. Sales fell 2.3 per cent to $5.59 billion from $5.73 billion in 2007.
Analysts expected $3.02 per share on sales of $5.61 billion in revenue for the year. Harley said it would not provide earnings guidance for 2009, but analysts call for $2.15 per share.
Agencies
The details of the job cuts will likely be finalised by the end of the month, said the Nikkei, Japan's top business daily, citing an unnamed senior company official. Japan's top automaker could slash more jobs in other regions if global auto sales continue to slump, the daily said.
Toyota spokesman Yuta Kaga declined to confirm the report, saying nothing had been decided.
Mike Goss, a spokesman for Toyota's North American manufacturing operations, said Toyota is considering "additional steps" after making several production adjustments in recent months, but no decisions have been finalised.
"Current business conditions are not forcing us to make involuntary reductions of Toyota team members," he said in a written statement.
Hit by the collapse in demand for cars, Toyota is expecting to incur its first operating loss in 70 years. The company on Tuesday tapped Akio Toyoda, grandson of the Japanese automaker's founder, as president, paying homage to its roots amid a deepening global downturn.
The US-educated Toyoda, 52, is the first founding family member to take the helm at the Japanese auto giant in 14 years.
Like other Japanese automakers, Toyota has been reducing temporary workers at its auto plants in Japan to curb production amid the global recession.
Harley said its fourth-quarter profit fell 58 per cent to $77.8 million, or 34 cents per share, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, compared with $186.1 million, or 78 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.
Revenue fell 6.8 per cent to $1.29 billion from $1.39 billion in the year-ago quarter.
The results fell short of Wall Street estimates. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected 57 cents per share on sales of $1.29 billion, on average.
Harley said its financial-services division swung to an operating loss of $24.9 million in fourth quarter, hurt by write-downs totaling $63.5 million. The company said it is evaluating ``a range of options'' to provide funding for the ailing Harley-Davidson Financial Services. Many analysts have suggested the lending unit may have to be sold because it has been unable to unload its debt in the financial markets.
For the full year, Harley said its earnings fell 30 per cent to $654.7 million, or $2.79 per share, from $933.8 million, or $3.74 per share, in the same quarter last year. Sales fell 2.3 per cent to $5.59 billion from $5.73 billion in 2007.
Analysts expected $3.02 per share on sales of $5.61 billion in revenue for the year. Harley said it would not provide earnings guidance for 2009, but analysts call for $2.15 per share.
Agencies
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