TOKYO (Dow Jones)--Casio Computer Co. (6952.TO) said Tuesday it fell into the red in the fiscal year ending March 2009 from a net profit the year earlier due to sluggish digital camera sales, the strong yen and a weak economy.
The manufacturer of handheld computers, digital cameras and the G-Shock watch line swung to a group net loss of Y23.15 billion from a profit of Y12.19 billion in the previous year.
It had earlier predicted a profit of Y1.50 billion.
Sales slid 16.9% to Y518.04 billion from Y623.05 billion, while operating profit fell 89.35% to Y4.02 billion.
Casio released a Y1 billion net profit outlook for the first half of the fiscal year ending September 2009 and Y5 billion for the full year ending March 2010. Sales are forecast at Y250 billion for the first half at Y530 billion for the year.
Casio's earnings are based on Japanese accounting standards.
-By Tor Ching Li, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-6895-7565; chingli.tor@dowjones.com
