Panasonic, Sony and Sharp might cut full-year earnings estimates by a combined $1.7 billion as restructuring costs and falling demand hamper recoveries by Japan’s top three TV makers.
The sluggish global economy and political tensions with China might slow the companies’ rebound from record annual losses caused by declining TV sales, a strong yen in foreign exchange and competition from Samsung Electronics Co. and Apple Inc.
A territorial dispute that fueled anti-Japan sentiment in China already contributed to forecast revisions at Canon Inc. and Honda Motor Co.
“The pain for Japanese consumer electronics makers isn’t going to let up,” said Seiichiro Iwamoto, who helps oversee about $34 billion at Mizuho Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. “It will take time for them to return from the brink of disaster.”
Panasonic, Sony and Sharp replaced their top executives earlier this year to speed up reforms after posting combined losses of more than $20 billion in the year ended March 31.
“They’ve all bet on the global economy, so they’re vulnerable to slowdowns in the U.S., Europe and China,” said Mitsushige Akino, who oversees more than $600 million at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co. in Tokyo.
Global TV shipments fell 8 percent to 51.6 million units in the quarter ended June 30 from a year earlier, a second straight quarterly decline, DisplaySearch said Sept. 11.
Japan was hardest hit, plunging 77 percent.
