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Sony, Panasonic Brace For Grim Earnings

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14 years ago

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Sony Corp and rival

Panasonic Corp are set to report a slump in quarterly earnings and may cut full-year forecasts after being hit by yen strength, Thai floods and consumer gloom in Europe during the vital pre-Christmas period.

Both companies saw their debt ratings downgraded by Moody’s Investor Services last week, as their TV divisions continue to bleed red ink despite restructuring efforts.

Sony, which reports on February 2, is expected to barely break even for the normally lucrative October-December quarter. Operating profit is seen shriveling 94 percent to 8.8 billion yen ($114.3 million), based on an average estimate from 6 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

That would be its worst third-quarter performance since the 2008 financial crisis. By contrast, Samsung Electronics posted a record quarterly profit this month on growing smartphone sales.

During the quarter, Europe’s debt crisis battered consumer confidence there while U.S. holiday spending on traditional electronic goods such as TVs and cameras — which Japanese makers are more reliant on — fell, as TV prices slid and as consumers splurged more money on tablets.

Japan’s TV makers have fallen behind their South Korean counterparts, partly hobbled by unfavourable exchange rates and their failure to bite the bullet on necessary investments.

“They have not made the right massive investments in panel manufacturing at the right time. If you do this half-heartedly, it ties your hands and has the opposite of the desired effect,” said Nobuo Kurahashi, an analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities.

Sony said last month it had extricated itself from its liquid-crystal display panel-making venture with Samsung Electronics, allowing it to source cheaper panels from the open market to try to keep pace with declines in TV prices.

That was seen as a necessary step to return its ailing TV business to profit after what is expected to be its eighth straight annual loss in the year to March.

But TV prices continue to slide. A 40-inch flat panel TV cost an average 68,200 yen in Japan in December, down nearly 40 percent from a year earlier, according to research firm BCN.

The maker of everything from PlayStation games consoles to “The Smurfs” movie, Sony has touted its mobile phone business as a way of integrating its online content offerings across devices to better compete with Apple.

But Sony Ericsson posted an unexpected 247 million euro ($322.3 million) loss for the final quarter, underscoring the hurdles Sony faces in smartphones too.

For the full-year to end-March, the market consensus from 19 analysts is for Sony to post an operating profit of just 8 billion yen, below the company’s forecast of 20 billion yen.

Panasonic, which reports on February 3, is expected to see a 41 percent fall in quarterly operating profit to 56.2 billion yen, hurt by losses in its TV division, lower chip earnings and a weak performance from its Sanyo unit.

Analysts expect a full-year operating profit of 124 billion yen, less than the company’s forecast of 130 billion yen, and the firm may cut its guidance for the second time.

The company is already forecasting a 420 billion yen net loss for the year, its worst in a decade, as it hives off overlapping businesses after buying out subsidiaries including Sanyo and accelerates restructuring in its TV division.

The best performer among domestic TV players may well be Sharp Corp, whose move to focus on premium large screen televisions, capitalising on its 10th generation LCD panel plant, may protect it from a slide in profit, some analysts say.

Games maker Nintendo Co Ltd, which kicks off the sector’s earnings announcements tomorrow, is expected to see a 50 percent slide in quarterly profit after slashing the price of its 3DS handheld games gadget to boost sales.

Shares in Sony have fallen by almost half since the beginning of the financial year, while Panasonic has fallen about 40 percent, compared with a decline of 10 percent for the Nikkei.

($1 = 77.1200 Japanese yen) ($1 = 0.7665 euros)

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Boat Mishap Kills Pastor, Wife And Church Members  In Brass Water

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6 days ago

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May 18, 2026

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A boat accident in Bayelsa state has killed a serving Pastor, Wife and other church members along Brass waterways
The sad incident happened at Odioama in Brass local government area of Bayelsa State when the Pastor, wife and  members of his church were in a programme.
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?Tide confirmed that the lifeless body of the Pastor’s wife has been found and deposited in a mortuary while the remains of her husband ,the Pastor is yet  to be recovered
as search party are still ongoing.
Although the real cause of the boat Mishap is not yet known as at the time of this report,  our Correspondent gathered  that the identities of the Pastor, wife and church members were not disclosed to the public.
The mishap, Tide gathered occurred on Friday morning when the church members were on a boat transit
The Bayelsa State government and the state police command are yet to issue official statement’s  on the sad accident
By: CHINEDU WOSU
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Rivers Workers Seek Scrapping Of Contributory Pension Scheme

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6 days ago

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May 18, 2026

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The Rivers State Council of  Nigeria Civil Service Union has called on the State Government to urgently scrap the contributory pension scheme, describing it as unfavourable to long-serving civil servants in the state.
Chairman of the union, Chukwuka Osuma, said this in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt,  recently.
Osuma said the current pension structure has continued to worsen post-retirement hardship for workers.
He noted that  the contributory pension scheme had failed to provide adequate retirement security for workers who had spent many years in service, especially those approaching retirement age.
According to him, civil servants who had served for more than 20 years were among the worst affected under the scheme, insisting that many retirees could no longer cope with prevailing economic realities.
He also  informed that the Union has made moves to showcase their concerns, pleading with Governor Siminalayi Fubara to abolish the pension policy and introduce a more favourable arrangement for affected workers.
“The union was not opposed to pension reforms, the contributory scheme should only apply to newly employed workers or those with fewer years in service”, he said.
Osuma explained that workers who had already spent decades in the civil service ought to remain under a more secure pension structure capable of guaranteeing stability after retirement.
The labour leader further noted that inflation and the rising cost of living had continued to erode the value of retirement savings, thereby increasing the suffering of pensioners across the country.
He also appealed to the state government to consider extending the years of service in the civil service from 35 to 40 years and the retirement age from 60 to 65 years.
Osuma argued that such adjustment had become necessary in view of present-day economic realities and changing conditions in the workplace.
The unionist also reviewed that similar policies had already been adopted in some sectors and jurisdictions, expressing optimism that the State could also implement the reforms for the benefit of workers.
He however, commended Governor Fubara for approving an N85,000 minimum wage for workers in the state, noting that the amount was above the national benchmark of N70,000.
Osuma also acknowledged the government’s efforts in the area of workers’ promotions and bonuses, but insisted that pension reforms and extension of years of service remained critical to the long-term welfare and stability of civil servants in Rivers State.
By: King Onunwor
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FG Begins South-West Tour To Promote New Cooperative Bank

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2 weeks ago

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May 13, 2026

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The Federal Government has launched the South-West zonal engagement and ministerial advocacy tour on the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria share capital mobilisation, sensitisation and cooperative sector digitalisation.
 Reports say the initiative was launched through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
According to reports, the advocacy tour, organised by the ministry’s Federal Department of Cooperatives, began on Monday in Lagos.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Dr Aliyu Abdullahi, said the initiative was part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Abdullahi described the exercise as a strategic effort to reposition the cooperative sector as a key driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity.
“Today represents a defining moment in our collective determination to reposition the cooperative sector as a major driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity,” he said.
The minister noted  the modern cooperative movement in Nigeria originated in the South-West following the 1934 Strickland Report, which led to the enactment of the Cooperative Societies Ordinance of 1935.
According to him, the decision to commence the sensitisation and share capital mobilisation tour in the region is symbolic, as it marks a return to the roots of cooperative development in the country.
Abdullahi said the advocacy tour was a direct outcome of resolutions reached at the 8th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Cooperative Affairs held in Abuja in March 2026.
He said the council approved the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme, a comprehensive framework designed to strengthen the cooperative sector and align it with the administration’s goal of building a one-trillion-dollar economy.
“The reform programme focuses on seven strategic pillars, including governance reforms, cooperative financing and the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, digitalisation, capacity building, value chain development, inclusion of youths, women and persons with disabilities, and strategic partnerships,” he said.
He said the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria and the digitalisation of the cooperative sector were the two major transformational initiatives under the programme.
“The Cooperative Bank of Nigeria is aimed at rebuilding a strong cooperative financial system capable of supporting cooperators, farmers, artisans, traders, SMEs, youths, women and persons with disabilities with accessible and affordable financial services,” he said.
Abdullahi emphasised that the proposed bank would be government-enabled but not government-funded.
“Government is not establishing the bank as an owner, nor will it rely on Treasury Single Account funds.
“The role of government through the FMAFS is to provide policy support, stakeholder coordination, regulatory facilitation and an enabling environment under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme,” he said.
Also speaking, the Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to cooperative sector transformation.
She described cooperatives as critical tools for promoting inclusive growth, grassroots productivity, food security, financial inclusion and community wealth creation.
Ambrose-Medebem said Lagos State would continue to support reforms and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (2025–2030).
“Together, let us build a cooperative ecosystem that is modern, transparent, digitally enabled, financially inclusive and globally competitive.
“Let us build cooperatives that not only mobilise savings, but also mobilise prosperity,” she said.
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