Japanese electronics giants are starting to feel the pinch of the Asian currency crisis, and this has lead to a barrage of reduced earning estimates. Earlier in the week Toshiba Corp warned net profit will plummet 85% to $77.8m for the year ending March (CI No 3,331), while Mitsubishi Electric Corp has also warned of steep losses in earnings and is planning major cuts in capital investment for chips this year (CI No 3,330). A report in the Wall Street Journal says companies including Hitachi Ltd, NEC Corp and Fujitsu Ltd are likely to adjust their earning estimates in the not too distant future. One of the hardest hit areas has been consumer product sales, which were poor as it was last summer, and now impending gloom looks certain.
