*NEWS*SLOW SALES IN INK CTG DIVISION

[Anonymous]

SEIKO
EPSON slower-than-expected sales of consumables such as ink cartridges in the
printer division.

Seiko
Epson, the world’s second-largest maker of ink jet printers behind
Hewlett-Packard Co. , joined Sanyo Electric in saying it would likely
miss its earnings forecasts.

Seiko
Epson cut its net profit forecast for the year to March by 17 percent to 54
billion yen amid sluggish demand and sharp falls in the prices of display
panels.

Seiko
Epson is the world’s third-biggest maker of small and medium-sized LCD panels
after Sharp Corp.  and Toshiba Matsush*ta Display Technology, a joint venture
between Toshiba and Matsush*ta Electric Industrial Co.

The
company, also battered by slower-than-expected sales of consumables such as ink
cartridges in the printer division, pared its revenue forecast by 3.9 percent to
1.473 trillion yen.

The
lowered forecasts fall short of a consensus net profit estimate of 62.25 billion
yen on projected sales of 1.52 trillion yen, according to a Reuters Estimates
poll of 18 analysts.

“As
printer demand remains robust, we can count on recovery in sales of consumables
in the next business year,” Seiko Epson Vice President Toshio Kimura told
reporters.

“We also
see signs of a turnaround in the poly silicon TFT (thin-film-transistor) LCD
business since the start of the month.”

In
another move that underlined consumer electronics makers’ plight in the face of
steep price falls, Pioneer Corp.  on Wednesday unveiled plans to cut 2,000 jobs
and shutter about one-fourth of its global production sites.

Pioneer
warned in January it would fall into the red this business year, hit by sliding
prices of and weak sales of its mainstay products — plasma display panels, DVD
recorders and DVD drives.

Prior to
the announcements, shares in Seiko Epson ended the day down 0.49 percent at
4,060 yen while Sanyo Electric closed down 1.12 percent at 352 yen and Pioneer
slid 1.44 percent to 1,981 yen.

[Author]

March 29, 2005 at 10:44 AM