Reuters reported this week that Bain Capital, the private equity company that virtually became a household name when CEO Mitt Romney ran for president against Barack Obama, is seeking to refinance the buyout financing it used to acquire D&M Holdings, Inc., also known as the D+M Group. It’s not going to be easy.
Financial
Sony Cuts Get Deeper – A Third of U.S. Staff to be Cut; 20 Sony Stores Will Close
Although not a surprise, Sony Electronics in San Diego began releasing details of a substantial cutback in U.S. facilities and personnel. The company says it will cut 33% of its U.S. staff – about 1,000 employees. Also, the company announced a major retreat from retail as it will close 20 of its 31 total Sony Store locations.
See more on this significant Sony restructuring… [Read more…] about Sony Cuts Get Deeper – A Third of U.S. Staff to be Cut; 20 Sony Stores Will Close
Yamaha Announces Financial Results Through Fiscal Third Quarter – It’s All Good
Yamaha Corp., likely heaving a sigh of relief, announced their financial results for the 9-month period through the fiscal third quarter (April 1, 2013 – December 31, 2013) with almost all good news. Showing significant sales and profit gains, the musical instrument and electronics manufacturer benefited from positive currency exchange rates…and lower overhead due to previous cost-cutting efforts.
See Yamaha’s results below – results good enough for the company to raise its dividend… [Read more…] about Yamaha Announces Financial Results Through Fiscal Third Quarter – It’s All Good
Sony, Finally Making Its Move, Puts the Computer Biz Up for Sale; TV Biz is Next Target for Shake-Up
The Nikkei reported this week that Sony Corp. has finally taken a bold step to reorganize its business by putting its VAIO computer division up for sale. According to the report, the company is in negotiation to offload the division to Japan Industrial Partners (JIP), a Japanese investment company.
See why this move makes sense…and why their TV division is the next target for a shake-up… [Read more…] about Sony, Finally Making Its Move, Puts the Computer Biz Up for Sale; TV Biz is Next Target for Shake-Up
With Huge Increase in Fiscal YTD Net Loss – JVC Kenwood Moves to Cut Staff & Buy a Company
JVC Kenwood Corporation released their year-to-date results for the first nine months (April 1, 2013 – December 31, 2013) of the current fiscal year at the end of last week. The results clearly portrayed a company in a struggle to turn their flagging business around. Although 9-month sales showed a 2.6% increase to ¥230.3 billion ($2.3 billion), up from ¥224.5 billion ($2.2 billion) last year…the company also booked a net loss that also increased more than four-fold – from ¥1.4 billion ($13.8 million) last year to ¥5.7 billion ($55.7 million) now.
See more on both JVC Kenwood’s results…and their moves to rectify the situation… [Read more…] about With Huge Increase in Fiscal YTD Net Loss – JVC Kenwood Moves to Cut Staff & Buy a Company
It’s Official, Moody’s Says Sony is ‘Junk’
In a move that has been highly anticipated or, depending on your point of view, highly dreaded, Moody’s Investors Service cut its credit rating on Sony Corp. by one notch, dropping it below investment grade – taking it to “junk” status, in industry parlance. The downgrade was made on Monday and it is significant in that it symbolizes the continuing struggles of the company as it to tries to improve its fortunes – so far with mixed results.
See more on this huge announcement sure to be the bane of Sony management… [Read more…] about It’s Official, Moody’s Says Sony is ‘Junk’
Panasonic, Cutting Costs, Halves Digital Camera Assortment
The Nikkei reported this week that Panasonic Corp. will only introduce about five new digital camera models next year – half its normal number – in a bid to take all steps necessary to return to profitability. While once a bright spot for the company which saw success for some of its higher end Lumix models – the report says that the category has come under intense pressure as smartphone cameras continue to improve.
See more on Panasonic’s decision to cut back on the number of cameras it will offer in 2014… [Read more…] about Panasonic, Cutting Costs, Halves Digital Camera Assortment
The Picture of Its Future is Still a Little Fuzzy at Loewe AG
German luxury TV manufacturer Loewe AG said today that it is in final stages of discussions with two different potential investors or buyers. The company, once the source of hopes by U.S. specialty A/V dealers for a more profitable step-up video line, has yet to emerge from the bankruptcy protection it invoked earlier this year.
See more on this worldwide luxury television manufacturer who is struggling to survive… [Read more…] about The Picture of Its Future is Still a Little Fuzzy at Loewe AG
In Wake of Poor Results, JVC Kenwood Announces Major Cuts to Staff & Compensation
Just days after the JVC Kenwood Corp. announced their dismal fiscal first-half results and revealed dramatic revisions to their full-year forecast – including the surprising news that they would lose money this year – the company released a statement saying they would attack their performance shortcomings aggressively. A series of actions were outlined designed to mitigate the company’s projected loss…but they couldn’t say for sure at this time if these actions will have a material effect on the remaining fiscal period’s performance.
See the steps JVC Kenwood’s board of directors outlined to minimize their losses… [Read more…] about In Wake of Poor Results, JVC Kenwood Announces Major Cuts to Staff & Compensation
Nortek Q3 Results: The Road to Success Remains Really, Really Bumpy
On Thursday last week, Nortek, Inc. released the financial results for its third quarter (ending September 28, 2013) as well as their nine-month YTD results – and on the following Friday convened a conference call with analysts to discuss them. While management put a positive spin on these results, one didn’t have to look very hard to see some glaring bumps Nortek is experiencing on their challenging road to success through restructuring and reorganization.
You can almost hear it in Michael J. Clarke’s voice when he said: “Nortek’s net sales and underlying operating performance for the third quarter were consistent with our expectations.” Not exactly the rousing proclamation of success we typically hear on their conference call for industry analysts.
