Larry,
Did DJ post this one or did I miss it?
Japanese Chip Makers Take A Beating
(05/28/98; 3:59 p.m. ET)
By Jack Robertson, Electronic Buyers' News
Plummeting dynamic RAM (DRAM) prices were blamed for trashing profits of major Japanese chip makers, who released their fiscal 1997 financial reports in the last two days.
Hitachi [HIT] reported a 97 percent drop in earnings to $26 million for the year ended March 31, 1998. The firm lost $25 million in the second half of its fiscal year, compared with a $400 million profit for the same period a year earlier. Hitachi blamed plunging DRAM prices for much of the loss. Hitachi sales for the year totaled $63.8 billion, down 1 percent from the previous 12-month period. Second-half sales were $31,5 billion, down 4 percent from the same period a year earlier.
NEC [NIPNY] reported a 55 percent drop in net profits for the year ended March 31, 1998, to $306 million. The firm said devaluation of NEC holdings in its consumer electronics division and lower PC sales was as much a factor in lower profits as diving DRAM prices. NEC sales for the year totaled $36.9 billion, a 1 percent decline from the previous 12 months.
Fujitsu [FJTSY] reported net earnings fell 88 percent to $42 million, attributed in part to the DRAM pricing debacle. Sales totaled $37.7 billion, which was 11 percent higher than the previous year. Fujitsu forecast "continued severe business environment in semiconductors" in the year ahead and slashed its chip capital investment for the year 50 percent to $660 million.
Toshiba [TOSBF] reported a loss of $27 million on sales of $21.18 billion in the six months ended March 31. For the full 1997 fiscal year, Toshiba profits dropped 89 percent to only $5 million. Sales for the year were $40.4 billion, virtually the same as the previous fiscal year. Toshiba will cut semiconductor capital spending this year 18 percent to $1 billion.
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