Visitors try Sanyo's home electric appliances at an exhibition in Tokyo.
© AFP/File Yoshikazu TsunoTOKYO (AFP) - As recently as in July, the ailing Japanese group had projected a return to the black with a net profit of 20 billion yen for the current fiscal year to March 2007 after the previous year's 205.7 billion yen losses.
The profit warning came as Sanyo reported reduced net losses of 3.62 billion yen for the six months to September from 142.53 billion yen a year earlier.
The group made an operating profit of 15.84 billion yen in the first half of the fiscal year against a year earlier loss of 28.37 billion yen. Revenues fell by 7.1 percent to 1.096 trillion yen.
Prices of products such as mobile telephones and digital cameras declined amid fierce market competition, the company said in a statement.
"For the electronics industry, due to sharp rises in the prices of crude oil and raw materials and price competition, prices are continuing to fall and the relentless effects on the business environment have continued," it said.
The company has been accelerating its restructuring and said in May it had managed to complete its planned 14,000 job cuts two years ahead of schedule as part of efforts to revive its flagging fortunes.
Sanyo said on Friday that it aimed to cut a further 2,200 jobs in the year to March 2007, 1,500 of which will be in Japan, and incur restructuring costs of 40 billion yen.
The poor performance contrasts sharply with profit gains at rivals such as Sharp and Panasonic brand-maker Matsushita Electric Industrial, which are riding high on booming sales of flat-panel TVs.
©AFP