EPSON TO CUT JOBS , FULL-YEAR LOSS

[Anonymous]

Seiko Epson to Cut Jobs, Forecasts Full-Year Loss

Jan. 06 —
Seiko Epson Corp., the world’s second- biggest printer maker, said it
will trim its workforce 11 percent over three years as it expects a net
loss in the year ending March.

The company forecast a 14
billion yen ($120 million) annual loss, after predicting on Oct. 26 a
22 billion yen profit. It will cut 3,000 jobs in Japan over three years
and book one-time losses of about 50 billion yen in the six months
ending March 31, the company said in a statement, the third time it
revised its outlook in the year started April 1.
“Cost cuts couldn’t keep up with the more-than-expected price
declines,” said President Seiji Hanaoka at a press conference in
Tokyo. Prices for the company’s multifunctional printers fell more than
10 percent this year, the company said.
Seiko Epson said price cuts by rivals and cooling demand drove down
sales of its small and mid-sized liquid-crystal displays more than it
had previously forecast. Costs for job cuts and other measures
contributed to the expectations for an annual loss. Sales of printer
ink and paper may also decline more than it previously expected this
year, the company said.
Net income in the three months ended Dec. 31 fell 55 percent to 9
billion yen and sales rose 6 percent to 455 billion yen, the company
said in the release.
Operating profit fell 45 percent in the third quarter to 17.1 billion yen.
The company, based in central Japan’s Nagano Prefecture, almost slashed
its outlook for operating profit from information- related equipment by
42 percent to 28.9 billion yen. The company also pared its target for
electronic devices sales, which include cell phone displays and LCD
chips, by 11 percent to 264 billion yen.
Seiko Epson cut its outlook for full-year operating profit forecast to
24 billion yen from an earlier target of 44 billion yen. Operating
profit in 2004 was 90.9 billion yen

[Author]

January 30, 2006 at 9:59 AM