Japanese Electronics Industry Sets New Performance Records Amid Yen Weakness and Economic Recovery

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Japanese electronics companies achieved their highest performance in the 2021 fiscal year (April 2021 to March 2022), supported by the yen's value falling to its lowest in 20 years and the global economic recovery.

According to the Asahi Shimbun on the 12th, Hitachi Ltd.'s net profit for the 2021 fiscal year increased by 16.3% compared to the previous year, reaching 583.4 billion yen (approximately 5.8 trillion KRW). This marks the highest level for two consecutive years, with strong performance attributed to increased orders related to energy such as power transmission and distribution installations, as well as the weak yen.

Panasonic, which produces batteries for electric vehicles (EVs), recorded a net profit increase of 54.7% to 255.3 billion yen and sales growth of 10.3% to 7.3887 trillion yen. The Asahi Shimbun explained, "The improvement in performance is due to strong battery supply to Tesla, the world's largest electric vehicle manufacturer, and increased overseas sales in the home appliances sector."

Olympus achieved a record high net profit, increasing ninefold due to strong sales of endoscopes and other products overseas. It is expected that net profit will set a new record again in the same period next year.

TDK, which sells electronic components for automobiles and smartphones, achieved record-high sales and net profit. Sharp performed well in the TV sector, with net profit increasing by 61.0% to 85.7 billion yen and sales rising by 2.9% to 2.4955 trillion yen.

Sony became the first Japanese electronics company to exceed 1 trillion yen in operating profit. According to the results announced by Sony on the 10th, operating profit reached 1.2023 trillion yen (11.9 trillion KRW), and sales hit a record high of 9.9215 trillion yen.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.