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Japan's Hitachi Posts Record Annual Loss

The Associated Press

TOKYO -- Electronics maker Hitachi(HIT) booked a record net loss of 787.3 billion yen ($8.1 billion) during the last fiscal year and said it doesn't expect the global economy to recover until next year at the earliest.

Hitachi, which produces everything from home appliances to medical equipment, was battered by plummeting demand for cars and gadgets as it reported its third straight year in the red. Last year, Hitachi reported a loss of 58.1 billion yen.

Annual revenue tumbled 11% to 10 trillion yen. But it managed an operating profit -- which reflects its core business -- of 127 billion yen for the year.

Hitachi's net loss represents the worst annual loss for a Japanese manufacturer, according to Shinko Research Institute. It would be the second-largest in Japanese corporate history after an 834.6 billion yen loss reported by telecommunications giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone for the fiscal year ending March 2002.

Hitachi expects the pain to continue, forecasting a 270 billion net loss this fiscal year.

"The global economy ... is not expected to see a full-fledged recovery until 2010 at the earliest," Hitachi said in a statement. "The global economic outlook is being shaped by concerns about the U.S. and other industrialized nations slipping into negative economic growth, and about slowing economic growth in emerging economies and the yen's appreciation."

As part of its turnaround efforts, Hitachi has already announced it will slash 7,000 jobs, or nearly 2% of its global work force.