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UPDATE: Saturday, June 12, 2010      The Japan Times Weekly    2010年5月29日号 (バックナンバー)
 
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Corporate performance is slowly recovering from global recession
(From The Japan Times May 22 issue)

 


要約
企業業績の回復に見る不況からの脱却

Most enterprises listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange have announced their performances for the business year ended March 31. Increased exports to emerging economies like China and India, and cost-reduction efforts have enabled many firms to become profitable — a stark contrast with the business year ended in March 2009, when most firms suffered large declines in sales and profits due to the global financial crisis.

Improvement appears to be accelerating. For example, all eight major electronics makers expect profits for the current business year (ending March 2011). For fiscal 2009, four were in the black while the other four reduced their amount of red ink.

One common condition for Japanese companies is the increasing weight that the Asian market has exerted in their sales. While sales in North America and Europe, which have suffered more from the global recession, dropped greatly, the sales decline in the Asian market was relatively small. According to a Kyodo News survey of 50 major manufacturing companies, the Asian market's share of sales rose 1.4 points from the previous business year to 19.2 percent. This trend is especially noticeable among auto and machinery makers, and chemical producers.

For example, Toyota Motor Corp.'s total sales dropped mainly due to bad conditions in the United States. Yet, its sales in Taiwan and Thailand rose, pushing its Asian market share of sales up from 12.3 percent the previous business year to 13.9 percent. Another common corporate trait has been rigorous cost-cutting efforts, which helped Toyota move into the black for the first time in two years. But such cost cuts can negatively impact subcontractors and the contractors under them.

A Cabinet Office survey shows that some 70 percent of the polled firms will continue cutting personnel costs. Even among listed firms that returned to profitability, those planning to increase employment and capital investment are in the minority. The challenge for firms is to attain a sustainable economic recovery by increasing employment and capital investment, which will in turn expand domestic demand.

The Japan Times Weekly: May 29, 2010
(C) All rights reserved
 

上場企業の3月期決算がほぼ出揃った。中印など新興国への輸出拡大とコスト削減により多くの企業が利益を生み、金融危機で苦しめられた2009年度とは大違いだ。

日本企業全体にみられる傾向は、アジア市場の影響が強まりだ。金融危機で打撃を受けた欧米に比べ、アジアでの販売の落ち込みは少なく、特に自動車、機械、化学の分野で販売市場におけるアジアの比率が高まった。

トヨタ自動車は米国での業績が悪かったが台湾とタイでの売り上げは伸び、コスト削減もあって2期ぶりに黒字に転じた。しかしコスト削減は下請け・孫請け企業に悪影響を及ぼす。

内閣府が調査した企業の7割は人件費削減を続ける予定だ。雇用と設備投資を増やすことで内需拡大による持続可能な経済回復を目指すことが、これからの企業の課題だ。

The Japan Times

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