Samsung 1Q Profit melts down under weak demand of memory chip

January 22nd, 2009 SEOUL - Samsung Electronics Co, the leading South Korean electronics maker, posted its first quarterly loss, saying Friday that it was 20 billion won ($14.59 million) in the red in the final quarter of 2008. The world's largest maker of memory chips and liquid-crystal displays said the falling prices of memory chips and sinking demand for electronics during the global economic downturn was the cause for the loss after it had seen a profit of 2.21 trillion won in the same quarter a year earlier.

May 8th, 2009 Japan's top chipmaker Toshiba posts record lossTOKYO — Japan's top chipmaker Toshiba Corp. tumbled to a record annual loss amid sinking global demand that has forced it to cut thousands of jobs.

July 24th, 2009 Samsung says quarter-2 net profit rose 5.2 percentSEOUL, South Korea — Samsung Electronics says second-quarter net profit rose 5.2 percent from the same period last year as sales rose. Samsung Electronics Co.

April 30th, 2009 Ericsson posts 35 percent drop in 1Q profitSTOCKHOLM — Wireless equipment maker LM Ericsson on Thursday reported a 35 percent fall in first-quarter net profit due to weak results from its handset unit Sony Ericsson and higher restructuring costs. The Stockholm-based company said net profit in the quarter was 1.7 billion kronor ($210 million) compared with 2.6 billion kronor in the same period a year ago.

July 6th, 2009 Samsung announces earnings estimateSEOUL, South Korea — Samsung Electronics Co., the world's biggest manufacturer of memory chips, announced quarterly earnings estimates for the first time Monday, saying it hopes to reduce market confusion and speculation about its performance. The Suwon, South Korea-based corporation said it expects consolidated sales of between 31 trillion won ($24.46 billion) and 33 trillion won for the three months through June.

July 28th, 2009 Canon profits plunge 86 percent in 2QTOKYO — Canon Inc. said second quarter profit sank 86 percent as the global economic malaise weighed on sales of its copy machines, printers and digital cameras while a stronger yen took a bite out of overseas earnings.

May 8th, 2009 Nintendo's annual profit rises 8.5 percentTOKYO — Nintendo Co. reported an 8.5 percent rise in annual profit as the video game maker shrugged off the global slowdown that has battered other Japanese manufacturers.

May 8th, 2009 Toyota projects losses on weak sales, strong yenTOKYO — Toyota Motor Corp., the world's top automaker, reports earnings for the fiscal fourth quarter on Friday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.

April 30th, 2009 Canon 1Q profit falls 83 percent as sales declineTOKYO — Canon Inc. said Thursday profit fell 83 percent in the first quarter, dragged down by lower sales of multifunction copy machines and printers as well as a stronger yen.

July 30th, 2009 Softbank profit shoots up 41 percent in 1QTOKYO — Mobile carrier Softbank Corp., the exclusive seller of the iPhone in Japan, said profit shot up 41.4 percent last quarter as it slashed costs and managed a slight increase in revenue despite the economic downturn. Softbank said net profit was 27.38 billion yen ($288 million), up from 19.37 billion yen last year.

July 29th, 2009 Toshiba quarterly loss swells to $614 millionTOKYO — Toshiba's red ink swelled to 57.8 billion yen ($614 million) in the April-June quarter, hit by losses on asset sales and weakness at its consumer electronics and chipmaking businesses. The loss for the fiscal first quarter was five times bigger than a year earlier when the Japanese conglomerate, which makes everything from nuclear power plants to household electronics, recorded a 11.6 billion yen loss.

August 3rd, 2009 Panasonic reports loss on slump, price fallsTOKYO — Panasonic Corp. posted a 52.98 billion yen ($558 million) loss as sliding sales, falling gadget prices and restructuring costs kept the Japanese electronics maker in the red for a third straight quarter.

July 30th, 2009 Sony quarterly loss $391 mln, expects more red inkTOKYO — Sony Corp. stuck to a forecast for big full year losses, citing falling gadget prices and a shaky global recovery, even as it posted less-dismal-than-expected results for the fiscal first quarter.

April 22nd, 2009 AT&T earnings fall, but iPhone cushions the blowNEW YORK — Cost-cutting and the lure of the iPhone softened the effect of the weak economy at AT&T Inc., helping the country's biggest telecommunications carrier beat analyst estimates for the first quarter. AT&T said Wednesday it earned more than $3.1 billion, or 53 cents per share, in the first three months of 2009, down 10 percent from almost $3.5 billion, or 57 cents per share, a year earlier.

May 14th, 2009 Sony reports $1 billion yen annual lossTOKYO — Sony Corp. reported Thursday a 98.9 billion yen ($1 billion) loss for the fiscal year ended March, its first net loss in 14 years, and forecast its red ink to swell this year amid a serious downturn in global electronics demand.