Panasonic considers culling plasma HDTV production lines
updated 06:22 am EDT, Mon March 18, 2013
Three-year plan would downsize entire Panasonic TV business
Panasonic is considering reducing its number of televisions over the next few years, according to reports. The Japanese electronics company is apparently looking at downsizing its entire TV business over a three-year period, starting next fiscal year, with the first casualty being Panasonic's plasma-based productions.
The reduced HDTV capacity is said to stem from internal predictions for TV sales in the coming years, according to Nikkei. Though 1 trillion yen ($10.5 billion) of sales were generated in the 2009 to 2010 financial year, the estimates for 2015 to 2016 place sales at half that amount. It is reported that Panasonic has already written off the cost of equipment used in the production of plasma TV panels at a plant in western Japan, with a view to stopping by fiscal 2014.
A spokesperson for Panasonic told Reuters "We are considering a number of options regarding our TV business. But nothing has been decided yet."
Panasonic's most recent quarterly results saw it make a profit of $667 million, a stark contrast from the $7.5 billion loss received in the quarter from July to September 2012, and that of the $2.1 billion loss in the same quarter the previous year.
