Mobile/Wireless
ò NTT DoCoMo, Japan's biggest mobile phone operator, disclosed a 5.2 percent decline its in quarterly operating profit in from Ñ272.7 billion ($2.3 billion), from Ñ287.6 billion ($2.5 billion) a year earlier. Industry analysts ascribe the decline to weaker average revenue per user (ARPU) on voice services and huge spending on handset subsidies. Industry sources are saying that the unit of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. (NTT), the world's largest telecom group by revenue, may face a decrease in its customers when a new number portability rule takes effect in October unless it offers promotions or other incentives. DoCoMo contributes about 70 percent of NTT's total operating profit.
ò Motorola announced that itÆs entering an agreement with Softbank Group for the deployment of a WiMax trial network in Tokyo. Under the agreement, Motorola is supplying an end-to-end trial system including access points, an access network, and prototype WiMax mobile handheld devices. The five-month trial, expected to begin in September, will enable the Softbank Group to assess the effectiveness of WiMax as a wireless broadband technology. Motorola will be deploying five WiMax access points and 25 prototype WiMax mobile handheld devices, operating in the 2.5GHz spectrum. The trial will also showcase MIMO (multi-input, multi-output) capabilities of Motorola's WiMax solutions in supporting multi-antenna telecommunications systems as well as enabling greater data through put and range.
Hardware
ò Sony Corp reported a turnaround in its performance, with quarterly operating profits hitting Ñ27 billion yen ($235.4 million), which goes beyond the consensus forecast of Ñ18 billion ($157 million) made by a poll of seven analysts under Reuters Estimates. The company ascribed the recovery to huge sales of its Bravia LCD televisions and Cybershot digital cameras and a weaker yen. In explaining the profit, the company cited the gains it derived from its mobile phone joint venture with Ericsson. Sony's electronics division, which accounts for about 70 percent of its revenues and makes Walkman music players and Vaio computers, posted a Ñ47.4 billion ($413.4 million) profit, its first profit for the April-June quarter in two years.
ò Canon announced a 28.8 percent rise in its net profit to Ñ105.9 billion ($923.6 million) for the quarter to June. It reported revenues climbing by 12.8 percent to Ñ1 trillion ($8.7 billion) from a year earlier, citing as one of the main factors in its growth the popularity of its high-end digital SLR cameras. For the six months to June, Canon said its net profit climbed by 22.2 percent to Ñ214.1 billion yen ($1.8 billion) on revenue of Ñ1.9 trillion ($16.5 billion), up 11.2 percent year-on-year. For the full-year to December, Canon said it is looking to a record net profit of Ñ440 billion yen ($3.8 billion), up from Ñ384.1 billion ($3.3 billion) in the previous year. The company also stated that it would cease the manufacture of traditional film cameras.
ò Sharp announced a 23 percent growth in its net profit to Ñ23.8 billion ($207.5 million) from Ñ19.4 billion ($169.2 million) in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year. The countryÆs leading manufacturer of LCD panels and TVs ascribed this growth to the strong sales of LCDs and cell phones. It posted a 13.7 percent climb in its operating profit to Ñ40.4 billion ($352.3 million) in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year. Sharp reported that it sold about 1.1 million LCD TVs during the quarter, 1.5 times the sales the firm had in the same period of 2005. For the full year to March, Sharp maintained its forecasts of net profits of 100 billion yen ($872.1 million), and revenue of Ñ3 trillion ($26.1 billion).
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