Japan TV Makers Losing Ground To S Korean Rivals

TOKYO (Nikkei)--Sony Corp. (6758), Panasonic Corp. (6752) and Sharp Corp. (6753) continue to lose a tough fight against Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. in selling flat-panel TVs.

The Japanese trio's combined global market share shrank from 25.6% in 2011 to 19.2% in 2012, while the South Korean pair boosted their portion to more than 40% together, according to the U.S. market research firm NPD DisplaySearch.

The Japanese firms were less price competitive than the South Korean giants. A decline in the domestic market was partially blamed for their worsening profitability.

Sony's TV business expects to post an operating loss for a ninth straight year for fiscal 2012, and Panasonic sees the losing streak of its TV business extending to a fifth year.

Having shifted its focus from market share to profit in November 2011, Sony has halved its annual sales target under a medium-term plan and terminated an LCD panel joint venture with Samsung to slash costs. It aims to bring the TV segment back to the black in fiscal 2013.

Panasonic also plans to scale down its TV business and is considering ending production of plasma TVs.

Samsung was the No. 1 flat-panel TV maker with a 27.7% share, followed by LG with a 15% share. Sony, Panasonic and Sharp rounded out the top five, accounting for 7.8%, 6% and 5.4%, respectively, of the global market.

(The Nikkei, March 23 morning edition)

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