RICOH : 1st SALES FALL IN 15 YEARS

[Anonymous]

http://www.japancorp.net/Article.Asp?Art_ID=20557
Ricoh Foresees 1st Sales Fall in 15 Years
Tokyo,
Oct, 2008- Japanese office equipment maker Ricoh Co. said
Tuesday its sales are expected to drop for the first time in 15 years
in fiscal 2008, mainly due to a slowdown in European sales.For the year
ending in March 2009, consolidated sales are estimated at 2.15 trillion
yen, down 3.2 pct from the previous year. The amount is also lower than
the firm’s previous estimate of 2.26 trillion yen.Ricoh also cut its
operating profit forecast from 180 billion yen to 150 billion yen, down
17.4 pct from the previous year. Net profit is forecast at 87 billion
yen, down from the previous projection of 108 billion yen and down 18.3
pct from the previous year’s result.

Ricoh’s performance is
being weighed down by the yen’s rise and a slowdown of sales in Europe,
where the firm has performed better than in the sluggish Japanese and
North American markets, officials said.In response to the yen’s recent
appreciation, Ricoh has revised its assumed exchange rate for the six
months from October to 130 yen to the euro from 160 yen. The assumed
yen-dollar rate is unchanged at 100 yen to the dollar.For
April-September, the company marked a net profit of 34,345 million yen,
down 35.4 pct from the same period last year. Operating profit fell
23.0 pct to 65,076 million yen, on sales of 1,065,927 million yen, down
2.1 pct.

[Author]

November 3, 2008 at 10:30 AM