Japan Listed Firms May Log 40 Pct Profit Plunge for FY '08

Tokyo, Jan. 26 (Jiji Press)--Combined group recurring profits at
major nonfinancial Japanese firms for fiscal 2008 may fall by some 40 pct
from the previous year due to the stronger yen and the global financial
crisis.
According to a Jiji Press survey Monday, combined recurring profit
projections at 1,191 nonfinancial companies listed on the Tokyo Stock
Exchange's first section, for which year-on-year earnings comparisons are
possible, are down 33.9 pct for the year to March 2009.
But deteriorating conditions, including output cuts and
restructuring costs, are expected to force many firms to revise down their
annual estimates further in line with April-December earnings announcements,
helping to expand the profit fall by some 10 percentage points.
The Japanese April-December earnings reporting season will continue
until mid-February.
As of the end of November, when the firms reported April-September
earnings, their combined recurring profits were forecast to fall 24.0 pct in
the current business year. But a total of 112 companies, including Toyota
Motor Corp. <7203> and Sony Corp. <6758>, later slashed their annual
outlooks.
For fiscal 2008, combined nonfinancial companies' recurring profits
are estimated by Nomura Securities Co.'s Financial & Economic Research
Center to fall 40.8 pct and by the Daiwa Institute of Research to decrease
42.8 pct.