EuropeanDebtCrisis
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Foxconn announces $226 million half-year net loss, blames usual suspects
Manufacturing behemoth Foxconn (Hon Hai) has announced a record net loss of $226 million on turnover of $2 billion for the first half of the year. Unsurprisingly, it attributed the loss to the European debt crisis, global economic slowdown and its customers "continuous struggle" for market share. While it made a big push to encourage new customers, capacity far outstripped demand. In order to stem the tide, it's relocating some of its Shenzhen-based facilities to sites in Northern China -- and it's also in talks with carriers to become an ODM, building white-label smartphones in the same way that Huawei and ZTE do. While the loss isn't a rosy picture, the company does have nearly $2 billion stashed in the bank, so it shouldn't be worrying too much.
Acer scrapes $1.87 million in profit as it becomes world's third biggest PC maker
Acer rose a place to become the world's third biggest PC maker this quarter, with net profits rising to $14.48 million, up net profit a slender $1.87 million, down from $11.2 million last quarter. Despite the drop, it's the company's second positive period since it ended 2011 with a $212 million loss, but the financial crises in the US, Europe, China and Asia Pacific all hampering its recovery. Like many of its PC brethren, it's pinning hopes on Windows 8 to spark a buying frenzy, but thanks to tight margins, only expects profits to be "on par" with those it's just announced. [Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons]
Toshiba slips into the red as latest earnings reveal $153 million loss
Toshiba's most recent fiscal results (the first of its 2012 financial year) show that while the company pulled in $16 billion in turnover, it slumped to a $154 million loss for the last three months. While its "social infrastructure" unit (power plants, LED light bulbs and radiation detectors) generated a $107 million profit, the consumer electronics and white-goods sectors continued to lose sales. The company attributes the loss to further restructuring costs as well as pointing an accusatory digit toward the European financial crisis and concerns about power generation capacity in Japan. Despite the gloom, the company says that it still expects to hit a target of $81 billion turnover and $3.8 billion profit before March 2013.
Panasonic's 2013 Q1: things are looking up with a $164 million profit
Panasonic's financial year runs from summer to summer, so its first-quarter results for 2013 just hit the wire. The figures proudly show that the company has managed to turn around the losses it suffered so badly in the previous period -- with $23 billion in turnover generating a tidy profit of $164 million. While sales dropped by six percent compared to the first three months of the year, it's been reducing fixed costs and restructuring each segment of the business to ensure a return to profit making despite the worsening financial crisis in Europe. The company's even been able to stick some cash into the savings account, tucking $16.6 million into the piggy bank for a rainy day.
Toshiba made $898.8 million profit, could manage to lend you twenty bucks
Toshiba isn't going with the flow this financial season, bucking the trend and posting a healthy (albeit reduced) net profit of 73.7 billion yen ($898.8 million). Whilst down from $1.7 billion in 2010, the company points to the European debt crisis, Japanese Earthquake and high oil prices as the barriers to further success. Unlike its local rivals, Tosh branched out early into "social infrastructure," building everything from radiation detectors, power plants and LED light bulbs -- businesses that made a stack of cash while its computer and TV businesses slumped. Unencumbered by these crises in the future, the company is projecting to make $1.68 billion across the next 12 months -- at which point it might treat itself to a spa day, or something.
