Sumitomo Financial Net Plunges, Panasonic Loss

Darlington Musarurwa
28 Jan, 2009
New York City

Stocks in Tokyo trading gained 0.6% on the expectations that the U.S. stimulus plan will be passed. Panasonic is expected to reported first loss in six years. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group net dropped nearly 70% in the nine months ending in December.

[R]5:00AM New York, 7:00PM Tokyo - Japan stocks rise on expectations of U.S. stimulus plan. Panasonic Corp’s likely to realize first loss in six years.[/R]

Japan market indexes rose despite a spate of negative corporate earnings from Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group and Canon Corp. and projections that Panasonic Corp, the largest consumer electronics maker, will record its first loss in six years.

Expectations that the U.S. will pass the massive stimulus package proposed by the Obama administration strengthened market sentiment.

In Tokyo trading Nikkei 225 index gained 0.6% or 45.22 to 8,106.29, and the broader Topix Index shed 0.1% or 1.16 to 804.33.

In the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange 8.8 billion shares worth 559 billion yen were traded and in the second section 97 million shares valued at 1 billion yen changed hands.

Of the Nikkei 225 index stocks, 120 rose, 92 dropped, and 13 were unchanged. CSK Holdings led gainers in the index shares with a rise of 9.6% followed by Citizen Holdings increasing 8.1%.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group’s Nine Months Profit Drops

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group reported today that net profit in the nine months ending December 31 fell to 83 billion yen from 319 billion yen in the comparable period a year earlier.

Ordinary income during the period shrank to 276 billion yen from 525 billion yen a year ago.

The company forecasts that profit in the fiscal year ending March 31 will plunge 61% to 180 billion yen.

Although Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. increased net interest income by 32.7 billion yen from a year ago on an increase in overseas lending and loan-to-deposit interest spread in overseas operations.

Credit costs advanced 161.3 billion yen to 399 billion yen on earnings deterioration of borrowers and provisions for claims as the global financial environment worsens.

Loss on stocks also rose 52.3 billion yen to 106.1 billion yen due to the decline in stock markets and equity in losses of affiliates amounting to 46.6 billion yen.

Canon Annual Profit Declines 36.7% to 309 billion yen

Canon fourth quarter net profit ended December 31 declined 36.7% to 309 billion yen from 488 billion yen a year earlier as sales slid 8.6% to 4.1 trillion yen.

Sales in the period fell on the appreciation of the yen and plummeting prices of consumer products such as inkjet printers, and falling sales volumes due to the decreased demand for network products.

Canon forecasts that the compact digital cameras and inkjet printer markets will be stagnant over the outlook period due to weaker buyer sentiment and a worsening economic environment.

The company projects that net sales will decline 14.5% to 3.5 trillion yen, while net income is projected to slip 68.3% to 98 billion yen.

Gainers & Losers

CSK Holdings led gainers in the Nikkei 225 index shares with a gain of 9.6% followed by increases in Citizen Holdings of 8.1%, in Tokyo Electron of 7.9%, in Asahi Glass Co. of 6.1%, and Taiyo Yuden of 6.1%.

Yokogawa Electric led decliners in the Nikkei 225 index shares with a drop of 8.2% followed by losses in Nippon Telegraph of 5.3%, in Osaka Gas Co. of 4.9%, in Fuji Electric House of 4.4%, and Yahoo Japan Corp. of 4.2%.

Panasonic Corp. to First Loss in 6 Years

Kyodo News reported today that Panasonic Corp. is likely to record its first loss in six years in the fiscal year through March.