Sharp To Post First Loss In More Than 50 Years

Sharp will post its first loss in more than 50 years for its March 2009 fiscal year and plans to cut 1,500 temporary jobs because of falling demand for LCD televisions. As Bloomberg notes , Sharp now expects a loss for the year of about 100 billion yen, or $1.1 billion. Analysts had been expecting a of 57.1 billion yen. The Sharp warning is the latest in a series of cautionary statements and job cuts in the Japanese electronics industry in the face of softening consumer spending. Panasonic earlier this week announced plans to cut 15,000 jobs; previously, NEC unveiled plans for 20,000 layoffs and Hitachi announced 7,000 cuts. And Sony will cut 16,000 jobs by March 2010. The Bloomberg story points out that market research firm DisplaySearch is forecasting a 16% decline in global LCD TV revenues this year. The loss would be the first for Sharp since it listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange - in 1956. (link)