Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. (Osaka, Japan) reported its consolidated financial results for the fiscal third quarter and nine months ended December 31, 2001. Consolidated group sales for the third quarter were down 13 percent to 1,737.2 billion yen (US$13.16 billion), from 1,992.6 billion yen in the same three-month period a year ago. Of the total, sales in Japan decreased 24 percent to 803.7 billion yen (US$6.09 billion), from 1,054.8 billion yen in the same quarter of the previous year, while overseas sales were mostly unchanged at 933.5 billion yen (US$7.07 billion), compared with 937.8 billion yen in the same quarter a year ago. Excluding the effects of currency translation, overseas sales decreased nine percent from a year ago on a local currency basis.
Consolidated operating profit for the third quarter declined to a loss of 69.7 billion yen (US$528.0 million), as compared with an operating profit of 59.4 billion yen recorded in the year-earlier quarter. Consolidated income before income taxes for the third quarter turned to a loss of 212.9 billion yen (US$1.61 billion), compared with income before income taxes of 45.6 billion yen in the same quarter a year ago. Accordingly, the company recorded a net loss of 172.0 billion yen (US$1.30 billion), down sharply from a net income of 22.8 billion yen in the previous year's third quarter.
Consolidated group sales for the nine months ended December 31, 2001, decreased 11 percent to 5,122.8 billion yen (US$38.81 billion), compared with 5,729.7 billion yen in the same nine-month period of the previous year. The company recorded an operating loss for the nine-month period of 145.4 billion yen (US$1.10 billion), down from an operating profit of 159.0 billion yen in the same period last year. Income before income taxes for the nine months turned to a loss of 300.2 billion yen (US$2.27 billion), as compared with an income before income taxes of 150.7 billion yen in the same period a year ago. This resulted in a net loss for the nine months of 241.5 billion yen (US$1.83 billion), from a net income of 74.2 billion yen in the same period of the previous year. Consolidated net loss per common share for the nine months was 116.15 yen (US$0.88 per ADS), compared with a net income per common share of 34.22 yen a year ago, both on a diluted basis.
