Japan's Sharp Secures $1.9B Bailout After Reporting Large Annual Loss

By Avaneesh Pandey @avaneeshp88 a.pandey@ibtimes.com

Sharp Corp Chief Executive Kozo Takahashi speaks during a news conference in Tokyo May 14, 2015. Reuters/Issei Kato

Japanese electronics giant Sharp Corporation said on Thursday that it had secured a 225 billion yen ($1.9 billion) bailout from banks in return for a massive restructuring involving a 10 percent cut in its global workforce. The company, which manufactures consumer appliances and electronics, solar panels and smartphone displays, had earlier on Thursday reported a larger-than-expected net loss of 222 billion yen ($1.9 billion) for the year ended March 2015 -- its third loss in four years.
In a statement outlining its “medium-term management plan,” the company said the loss can be attributed to a “lack of foresight in market changes” and “inadequacy to correspond to price decline.”
In the statement, the Osaka-based firm said that the
Mizuho Bank and the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ would provide 100 billion yen each. In addition, Japan Industrial Solutions, a private equity fund, would provide 25 billion yen to fund its “business growth strategy.”
However, according to analysts, even with the new measures, turning around the company’s fortunes would not be easy. David Kuo, Singapore director of The Motley Fool, a Virginia-based financial services company, told BBC that four annual losses in seven years “were not signs of a company that is doing well.”
Earlier this week, following reports that Sharp Corp. might dilute its existing stocks and issue preferred shares, the company’s shares fell more than 25 percent.
“A turnaround solution for Sharp is not out of the question, but it will need sharper minds, sharper products and a sharper focus on cash management, which the bailout banks could just provide,” Kuo reportedly said.