Roundup: Japan's traditional electronics firms face hard time

Japanese electronics maker Panasonic announced on Friday a slump of 63.5 percent in its April-June group net profit, which once again shows that Japan's traditional electronics firms are facing a difficult time.

Panasonic Corp. reported a group net profit of 21.74 billion yen (213 million U.S. dollars) for the three months ending in June, down from 59.56 billion yen (584 million U.S. dollars) a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the company said its operating profit tumbled 12.6 percent to 66.93 billion yen (656 million U.S. dollars) in the first quarter of 2016 as sales dropped 5.9 percent to 1.75 trillion yen (17.15 billion U.S. dollars).

The serious losses Panasonic experienced are not an isolated case. Early this month, Chinese electronics giant Lenovo acquired 44 percent of NEC Lenovo Japan Group's stocks, according to media reports.

Nippon Electric Company (NEC), once the biggest PC supplier in Japan, declared a plan to build up a joint venture with Lenovo in 2011. However, the new group failed to rid NEC of the successive losses for years, and now 95 percent of its stocks have been in Lenovo's hand.

Another former Japanese electronics giant, Sharp Corp., revealed recently its group net loss of 27.5 billion yen (269.5 million U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2016, including an operating loss of 2.5 billion yen (24.5 million U.S. dollars).

Its turnover fell 32 percent to 510.2 billion yen (5 billion U.S. dollars) year on year in the January-June period, the company said.

Founded in 1912, the Japanese multinational firm of electronics and household appliance launched several products labeled as "the first one in Japan" and even "the first one in the world."

However, it cannot escape the fate of being annexed. Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., a Taiwan-based electronics giant, bought 66 percent of Sharp's stocks for 388.8 billion yen (3.8 billion U.S. dollars) in March 30, according to Japanese media.

What's more, Toshiba Corp., Sharp's fellow sufferer, also sold off its 80.1 percent of stocks at a price of 51.4 billion yen (504 million U.S. dollars) on June 30 to Midea Group, a Chinese electrical appliance manufacturer, Beijing Times reported.

Toshiba, a 140-year-old brand, which made Japan's first television, refrigerator and washing machine, has reported design flaws at least three times since 2008.

The company suffered from a widening loss after a net loss of nearly 37.8 billion yen (370 million U.S. dollars) in 2014, due to ineffective operation, unsatisfactory after-sales service and current fiscal scandal.

All in all, these renowned electronics firms, once being the engines of Japan's economic growth, have witnessed declining sales, huge losses and even annexation, as a result of the yen's appreciation, lack of innovation, insufficient service and mismanagement. Endi