Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Technology Stocks : Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: CaraMia who wrote (78771)	9/28/1999 10:17:00 AM
From: Glenn D. Rudolph	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 164684

FOCUS-Japan NEC says restructuring into Net firm (Adds details, quotes) TOKYO, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Japanese electronics group NEC Corp <6701.T> said on Tuesday it would embark on 100 billion yen ($939 million) restructuring programme this year to transform itself into a lean, Internet-based firm. "We will put every resource into our Internet operations, using our Internet service provider BiGlobe as its driving force," president Koji Nishigaki told a news conference. "With strength in parts, telecommunications equipment and computers, NEC is best positioned to benefit from the Internet revolution." Reflecting this approach, NEC said it would announce a business alliance with U.S.-based Intel Corp <INTC.O> in the Internet area on Wednesday morning. It declined to give further details. Embattled NEC, which had its worst ever earnings performance in the year ended in March, revised down its profit forecasts for this business year, but Nishigaki announced ambitious sales goals for its Internet operations. Under the restructuring, NEC will essentially liquidate its debt-ridden subsidiary NEC Home Electronics which has been suffering in key fields such as display monitors and CD-ROM drives due to competition from Taiwanese and Korean rivals. It will transfer those business into four NEC units. The measures follow announcements in February to cut 15,000 jobs over three years and to consolidate three units this month. Restructuring costs will be covered by stock and property sales, possibly including its Tokyo headquarters, but a robust yen and a fall in memory chip prices would knock 20 billion yen off an earlier forecast for operating profit for the year to March 2000, NEC said. It predicted a 10 billion yen consolidated net profit for 1999/2000, down from an earlier forecast of 25 billion yen in May but up from a 157 billion yen loss in the last business year. NEC's shares finished up 90 points or 4.37 percent at 2,150 yen on Tuesday after it announced the revised earnings but before giving actual details of the restructuring. NEC, a computer and semiconductor manufacturer that analysts say is now trying to model itself on the nation's leading Internet company Fujitsu Ltd <6702.T>, said it would divide its operations into three Internet companies from April. The three are an Internet solutions firm for network providers, another for companies and individuals and a device solutions firm to support the Internet industry. Each division will be headed by an executive officer who will check its balance sheets, Nishigaki said. The divisional autonomy is aimed at tightening cost management and speeding up decision making. NEC set itself a goal of three trillion yen in sales from its Internet operations for the year to March 2002 -- almost triple what it has forecast for the current business year. ($1=106 yen) REUTERS Rtr 07:23 09-28-99