After seeing its business hammered by a sluggish Japanese economy and a downturn in the semiconductor market in 2001, Mitsubishi Electric Corp. expects to see its losses narrow during the current fiscal year as a result of restructuring plans put in motion last year, the company said.
Mitsubishi Electric Corp., now under the management of President and Chief Executive Officer Tamotsu Nomakuchi who took over the reins at the company on April 1, expects to see the greatest improvement in its mobile telecommunication and semiconductor units, which both posted large losses last year.
For the current fiscal year, the Tokyo company expects to see an ¥11 billion operating loss at its Information & Communication Systems unit, which produces mobile telecommunication equipment among other products, and a ¥29 billion operating loss at its Electronic Devices unit, which includes the company's semiconductor business.
These estimates represent a ¥79 billion and ¥52 billion reduction in losses from the previous year, respectively.
"These are rather modest numbers, which are capable of being achieved," Nomakuchi said at a recent press conference, adding that Japan's current economic situation does not offer much room for optimism. The company's forecasts of smaller losses are based mainly on benefits from its restructuring plans and not the condition of the Japanese economy, he said.