All the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park couldn’t save Matsushita Electric Industrial Co from suffering a 21% fall to $1,230m for its 1993-94 fiscal year – but things would have been a lot worse for the diversified consumer and industrial electronics and media giant but for profits generated by the blockbuster movie. And although Sony Corp looks for a major profits recovery this year, analysts told Reuter they expected Matsushita to lag because of its heavier dependence on the recession-hit Japanese market – Matsushita depends for 51% of group sales on the domestic market and its profits hinge on economic recovery in Japan, but it is unlikely the domestic market will show a sharp upturn soon, said Etsuo Ogisu, of Lehman Brothers Japan. With those giant movie and record businesses, Sony now relies on Japan for only 28% of its sales. When you’re going through a difficult patch, the most surprising things can catch you out, and just as Fisons Plc did badly this year in part because unseasonal weather in Japan caused fewer allergies, Matsushita was hit in its sales of air conditioners and audio-visual products from the same cause.
