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To: JRI who wrote (149)	3/23/2002 10:58:57 PM
From: JEB	Respond to of 10157

Barron's: Fight ahead for Matsushita By CBS.MarketWatch.com Last Update: 2:08 PM ET March 23, 2002 SAN FRANCISCO (CBS.MW) -- Turnaround prospects for electronics giant Matsushita Electric could ride on something in the palm of your hand, according to an article in Barron's The business weekly notes the huge holdings and multitude of brand names owned by Matsushita (MC: news, chart, profile) -- including Panasonic, Technics and Quasar -- and its "280,000 employees working in 320 operating units in 45 countries making 190,000 products sold and exported under a half-dozen brand names." Among all that plugging and playing, the next big thing could be the messaging hand-held Internet phones expected to hit the market soon as NTT Docomo (DCM: news, chart, profile) rolls out its portable messaging service. Matsushita's hopes in that realm ride on the Panasonic P504i, which Barron's says could combine the conglomerate's products in semiconductors, batteries and other industrial parts. There are four tough rivals to contend with: Sony (SNE: news, chart, profile), NEC (NIPNY: news, chart, profile), Fujitsu and Mitsubishi. Matsushita lost its top spot last year to NEC, Barron's reports, surrendering 15 percent market share as delays and software glitches prompted recalls that hurt the Panasonic image. Barron's says Matsushita is expecting a $3.3 billion loss this year that more than wipes out profits of the past five years as sales drop about 11 percent. To turn things around, a $1.8 billion cost-cutting drive s planned, including layoffs, plant closures and pay cuts. So if there's to be a reversal, the handset and its synergies are vital. Barron's quotes Richard Chu of ING Barings as saying the handset could add up to $226 million in profit to the Matsushita equation. Having said that, though, Chu downgraded Matsushita to "reduce" from "hold" as he expects more problems down the road and continued waste as different R&D units duplicate work on projects. Shares of Matsushita ADRs fell 32 cents Friday to $12.64. cbs.marketwatch.com