It has taken Japan’s electronics giants just five years to wipe out the profits of nearly two decades. If Panasonic, Sharp and Sony have their sums right – and that is a big if – the combined Y3.7tn ($46bn) they will have lost by the end of this financial year is equivalent to their profits from the previous 18, according to Capital IQ data. Their plight has led Sharp to admit that there is “material doubt” over its survival and Panasonic to introduce more writedowns and restructurings. Sony alone is clinging to profit hopes this year. Being the best of a bunch this bad does not say much.
日本电子巨头们仅用短短五年，就抹掉了过去近20年的利润。根据Capital IQ的数据，如果松下(Panasonic)，夏普(Sharp)和索尼(Sony)没算错的话（这是一个很大的“如果”），他们到本财年底合计将亏损37万亿日元（合460亿美元），相当于此前18年的利润总和。他们所处的困境已令夏普承认，其能否生存面临“实质性疑问”，而松下将实行更多资产减记和重组。唯有索尼今年还有望盈利。但在如此糟糕的一群中做到最好并不能说明什么。