Sharp Corp is the latest of Japan's electronic giants to announce it has been badly hurt by the country's economic downturn.
Sharp's share price fell 5.8 per cent yesterday after it said its consolidated profits for the half-year to September would fall 88 per cent to 2.5 billion yen (about HK$143.06 million).
The company now expects its profit for the year to March will fall 60 per cent from the previous year to 10 billion yen.
'We have been hurt by a drop in housing sales and consumption in Japan,' the company said. It said it expected a severe operating environment in coming months because a 'simultaneous world-wide recession' had begun with the Asian downturn and the Russian financial crisis.
The drop in housing sales had hurt all of Japan's electronics companies because new home-owners typically bought electric goods like air-conditioners, refrigerators and stereos, analysts said.
As a result, domestic sales of Sharp's audio-visual products were expected to fall by more than 10 per cent, a Sharp spokesman said.