Three of the world’s biggest names in electronics — Samsung, Sony and Panasonic — are bracing for weaker global demand and a rocky road even as they reported stellar quarterly profits Friday.
South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. booked a record net profit for the third straight quarter thanks to brisk sales of semiconductors and mobile phones.
Japanese rival Sony Corp. climbed back to the black as consumers clamored for its PCs and the PlayStation 3 gaming console. Panasonic Corp.’s net profit surged more than fivefold on strong demand for flat-panel TVs and Blu-ray Disc recorders.
The results underscore how major Asian manufacturers have benefited from a recovering global economy and government stimulus measures that boosted consumer spending. But with that recovery now in doubt in key overseas markets like the U.S., companies are preparing for a tougher fight for customers and with each other. Rising currencies in Asia also cloud their outlooks.
“We believe the operating environment will become more severe,” said Sony’s Chief Financial Officer Masaru Kato at a briefing for analysts. “We are being very cautious regarding the second half.”
Samsung is wary of oversupply and price cuts for memory chips, in addition to a potential further decline in prices of the panels used in LCD televisions.
“Combining these with the possible appreciation of the won, we expect overall fourth-quarter business conditions to be difficult,” said Samsung Vice President Robert Yi on a conference call with analysts.
What happens to Samsung matters because it is such a major force in the global electronics industry. Besides dominating in memory chips and flat screen TVs, the company is also the world’s largest manufacturer of large-sized liquid crystal displays and ranks second in mobile phones behind Nokia Corp. of Finland.
The company manufactures both DRAM chips, used mostly in personal computers, and NAND flash memory chips, used in products…