Sanyo reported its third quarter results

The nine month period from April 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008 ended with the consolidated net sales total from the beginning of the fiscal year declining in the third quarter by approximately 6.4 percent to leave a total of 1,434.2 billion Yen (Euro 12.400 billion) compared to the same nine month period last year. For the third quarter only, there was a decrease of 22.4 percent over the same quarter last year, finishing with a total of 427.5 billion Yen (Euro 3.695 billion).

For the Japanese market, while sales of commercial refrigeration systems used for transferring goods in the cold chain were favorable, sales of large-scale air conditioners were bearish, ending the nine months with an overall decrease of 5.0 percent, totaling 528.8 billion Yen (Euro 4.571 billion)compared to the same period last year. As for overseas markets, favorable conditions existed for increased sales for solar panels, especially in Europe, commercial showcases in Asia, and reasonable growth for large-scale air conditioners. However, due to the increasingly difficult market circumstances, especially for products such as digital cameras, semiconductors, etc., the sales totals were approximately 7.3 percent lower than the same period last year, to 905.4 billion Yen (Euro 7.826 billion).

As for income, because of high raw materials costs and the increasingly stronger yen, operating income for the same period last year has decreased 25.1 billion Yen (Euro 216.980 million) to end at 30.8 billion Yen (Euro 266.260 million). Income before tax, compared to the same period last year that included the sale of Sanyo’s share in Sanyo Electric Credit Co., Ltd., was 47.5 billion lower (Euro 410.630 million), finishing the nine month total with a loss of 2.5 billion yen (Euro 20.2 million). The net income for the end of the nine month period decreased 10.4 billion Yen (Euro 80.9 million) overall over the same period last year, bringing the total net income for the nine months of FY 2008 to 18.3 billion Yen (Euro150.800 million).

Koichi Maeda, Executive Vice President of Sanyo, commented, "Though business environment deteriorated dramatically, we were able to maintain a positive operating income at the three-month period ended December 2008. We will continue to reduce expenses and accelerate structural transformation so that we can achieve the revised annual target, announced on January 15th, and ensure that the entire workforce moves forward as a "leading company for energy and environment".