TOKYO, Jan 30 (Reuters) – Canon Inc’s 76-year-old chairman and CEO will take on the additional role of president after the $60 billion Japanese camera and printer maker forecast weak earnings growth and said its current president was stepping down.

Like other export-focused Japanese manufacturers, Canon, which makes 80 percent of its revenue overseas, has been hit by a strong yen and a weak economy, on top of last year’s floods in Thailand that closed a printer plant and ruptured supply lines.

Canon said Tuneji Uchida, 70, will resign as of March 29, and be replaced by Fujio Mitarai, who served as president from 1995-2006 and has since held the post of chairman.

“Mitarai was at the centre of management, so I don’t think there will be any sudden changes,” said Naoki Fujiwara, a fund manager at Shinkin Asset Management, which manages about 500 billion yen ($6.5 billion) in assets.

“They do need to hand over to the next generation at some stage, so we’re interested to see when that will happen.”

Canon forecast 2012 operating profit of 390 billion yen ($5.1 billion), up from last year’s 378.1 billion yen, but some way below the average forecast of 470 billion yen from 20 analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Profit in 2010 was 387.5 billion yen.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Nintendo President Satoru Iwata dismissed the idea that the age of the dedicated handheld games device was over and said he aimed to return the company to substantial profit in 2012/13, after it warned of its first ever operating loss this year.

Shares in Kyoto-based Nintendo Co Ltd tumbled nearly 8 percent to an 8-year low after it slashed its full-year guidance for the third time in 6 months, and analysts said the potential market for its products was shrinking rapidly.

The creator of the Super Mario franchise reported a sharp drop in quarterly earnings, as its sales of its games devices that have dominated the industry for years were hit by competing gadgets such as Apple Inc’s iPhone.

Iwata said he blamed the dismal results on a mixture of strategic errors and the difficult business environment created by the strong yen and European consumer gloom.

“Nintendo is facing its worst results since it entered the games business. What matters now is how Nintendo can make a profit from next year onwards, even under these harsh conditions,” he told an analysts’ meeting.

The maker of the Wii home console and DS handheld games is struggling to compete as sales of more versatile smartphones and tablets boom, and poor sales forced it to slash the price of its much anticipated 3DS handheld game device in August.

“The profitability of 3DS hardware was the biggest issue for earnings this financial year, but it looks like we’ll be able to resolve the problem we’ve been having with losses on the 3DS during the first half of the next financial year,” Iwata said.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Nintendo President Satoru Iwata dismissed the idea that the age of the dedicated handheld games device was over and said he aimed to return the company to substantial profit in 2012/13, after it warned of its first ever operating loss this year.

Shares in Kyoto-based Nintendo Co Ltd tumbled nearly 8 percent to an 8-year low after it slashed its full-year guidance for the third time in 6 months, and analysts said the potential market for its products was shrinking rapidly.

The creator of the Super Mario franchise reported a sharp drop in quarterly earnings, as its sales of its games devices that have dominated the industry for years were hit by competing gadgets such as Apple Inc’s iPhone.

Iwata said he blamed the dismal results on a mixture of strategic errors and the difficult business environment created by the strong yen and European consumer gloom.

“Nintendo is facing its worst results since it entered the games business. What matters now is how Nintendo can make a profit from next year onwards, even under these harsh conditions,” he told an analysts’ meeting.

The maker of the Wii home console and DS handheld games is struggling to compete as sales of more versatile smartphones and tablets boom, and poor sales forced it to slash the price of its much anticipated 3DS handheld game device in August.

“The profitability of 3DS hardware was the biggest issue for earnings this financial year, but it looks like we’ll be able to resolve the problem we’ve been having with losses on the 3DS during the first half of the next financial year,” Iwata said.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Elpida Memory Inc (6665.T: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) aims to reach a deal as early as next month for a capital infusion from Micron Technology (MU.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the Nikkei business daily said, as it confronts a punishing memory chip market and imminent debt repayments.

The two have yet to hammer out details on an equity tie-up, in which Elpida will eventually seek to include Taiwanese chipmaker Nanya Technology Corp’s (2408.TW: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) parent, Formosa Plastics Group, the Nikkei said.

The Nikkei said Elpida presented a broad outline of a recovery plan centered around a partnership with Micron and Nanya during a meeting on Wednesday with lenders.

Elpida’s lenders have given President Yukio Sakamoto until next month to come up with a turnaround plan as the company confronts an uncertain outlook, sources familiar with the situation said.

They had originally demanded a plan be presented by January, although the company’s negotiations with potential partners have hit snags, the sources said.

“Clearly, the issue facing Elpida is that they need to tide over the near-term refinancing pressures. There will also be an eventual need to fund R&D and further capital spending,” said Macquarie Securities analyst Damian Thong.

“Elpida has technology, but it doesn’t have a lot of money. Any source of funding that relieves the situation should be seen as a positive for them as a company.”

Jan 26 (Reuters) – Nintendo Co Ltd posted a 61 percent drop in quarterly operating profit on Thursday and forecast a 45 billion yen ($580 million) operating loss for the year to March, far worse than market expectations, hit by weak sales and the strong yen.

The full-year operating loss will be the first since the company started announcing earnings in their current form in 1981. The company blamed yen strength and weaker-than-expected sales.

The creator of the Super Mario franchise dominated the video games industry for years with its DS handheld players and Wii home consoles, but is now struggling to keep up with more versatile gadgets like Apple’s smartphones and tablets.

It cut its annual forecast for its ageing Wii console to 10 million devices from 12 million, and for the 3DS handheld games device to 14 million from 16 million.

“We had higher expectations for the year-end season, but failed to meet them,” President Satoru Iwata told reporters in Osaka.

Poor sales forced Nintendo to slash the price of its much-anticipated 3DS handheld games device in August, only six months after its launch.

The move halted its record of making profits on games hardware as well as software, a business model that took operating income to a high of 555 billion yen in 2008/09.

TOKYO, Jan 26 (Reuters) – Japan’s Elpida Memory Inc aims to reach a deal as early as next month for a capital infusion from Micron Technology, the Nikkei business daily said, as it confronts a punishing memory chip market and imminent debt repayments.

The two have yet to hammer out details on an equity tie-up, in which Elpida will eventually seek to include Taiwanese chipmaker Nanya Technology Corp’s parent, Formosa Plastics Group, the Nikkei said.

The Nikkei said Elpida presented a broad outline of a recovery plan centred around a partnership with Micron and Nanya during a meeting on Wednesday with lenders.

Elpida’s lenders have given President Yukio Sakamoto until next month to come up with a turnaround plan as the company confronts an uncertain outlook, sources familiar with the situation said.

They had originally demanded a plan be presented by January, although the company’s negotiations with potential partners have hit snags, the sources said.

“Clearly, the issue facing Elpida is that they need to tide over the near-term refinancing pressures. There will also be an eventual need to fund R&D and further capital spending,” said Macquarie Securities analyst Damian Thong.

“Elpida has technology, but it doesn’t have a lot of money. Any source of funding that relieves the situation should be seen as a positive for them as a company.”

TOKYO (Reuters) – Sony Corp and rival Panasonic Corp are set to report a slump in quarterly earnings and may cut full-year forecasts after being hit by yen strength, Thai floods and consumer gloom in Europe during the vital pre-Christmas period.

Both companies saw their debt ratings downgraded by Moody’s Investor Services last week, as their TV divisions continue to bleed red ink despite restructuring efforts.

Sony, which reports on February 2, is expected to barely break even for the normally lucrative October-December quarter. Operating profit is seen shriveling 94 percent to 8.8 billion yen ($114.3 million), based on an average estimate from 6 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

That would be its worst third-quarter performance since the 2008 financial crisis. By contrast, Samsung Electronics posted a record quarterly profit this month on growing smartphone sales.

During the quarter, Europe’s debt crisis battered consumer confidence there while U.S. holiday spending on traditional electronic goods such as TVs and cameras — which Japanese makers are more reliant on — fell, as TV prices slid and as consumers splurged more money on tablets.

Japan’s TV makers have fallen behind their South Korean counterparts, partly hobbled by unfavorable exchange rates and their failure to bite the bullet on necessary investments.

“They have not made the right massive investments in panel manufacturing at the right time. If you do this half-heartedly, it ties your hands and has the opposite of the desired effect,” said Nobuo Kurahashi, an analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Sony Corp is the leading contender among firms jostling for an equity stake in Olympus Corp, Japanese business weekly Diamond reported on its website, as the scandal-hit medical equipment maker moves to shore up its finances.

Olympus may hold a news conference as early as this week on a possible tie-up with Sony, which would boost its existing 0.03 percent holding in the endoscope and camera maker to several percent, the magazine said.

Diamond also quoted an unnamed Sony executive as saying that the consumer electronics maker’s chief executive Howard Stringer had already given the green light for a deal.

Japan’s electronic firms are keen on Olympus high-margin endoscope business, although branching out to healthcare would be a new tack for Sony, which supplies image sensors to Olympus.

“Sony has been trying to integrate software, content and hardware to create an entertainment network. But Apple has a stranglehold on this market, so however hard it tries, it’s going to be a runner-up at best,” said Mizuho Investors Securities analyst Nobuo Kurahashi.

“On the other hand, healthcare is a growth market…if it is not too damaging to Sony’s balance sheet, it is certainly interesting,” he said.

Other potential equity partners include Fujifilm Holdings Corp which has said that it is willing to support Olympus if asked, while banking sources have said that Panasonic Corp is interested.

TOKYO, Jan 23 (Reuters) – Sony Corp is the leading contender among firms jostling for an equity stake in Olympus Corp, Japanese business weekly Diamond reported on its website, as the scandal-hit medical equipment maker moves to shore up its finances.

Olympus may hold a news conference as early as this week on a possible tie-up with Sony, which would boost its existing 0.03 percent holding in the endoscope and camera maker to several percent, the magazine said.

Diamond also quoted an unnamed Sony executive as saying that the consumer electronics maker’s chief executive Howard Stringer had already given the green light for a deal.

Japan’s electronic firms are keen on Olympus high-margin endoscope business, although branching out to healthcare would be a new tack for Sony, which supplies image sensors to Olympus.

“Sony has been been trying to integrate software, content and hardware to create an entertainment network. But Apple has a stranglehold on this market, so however hard it tries, it’s going to be a runner-up at best,” said Mizuho Investors Securities analyst Nobuo Kurahashi.

“On the other hand, healthcare is a growth market…if it is not too damaging to Sony’s balance sheet, it is certainly interesting,” he said.

Other potential equity partners include Fujifilm Holdings Corp which has said that it is willing to support Olympus if asked, while banking sources have said that Panasonic Corp is interested.

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Sony and Panasonic both had their debt ratings downgraded on Friday by Moody’s Investors Service, which cited concerns about continued losses in their TV divisions, two weeks ahead of their earnings announcements.

Sony will find it hard to meet its target of pulling its TV division back into profit in the next two years amid harsh competition and the strong yen, despite pulling out of an LCD panel joint venture with Samsung Electronics, Moody’s said.

It said Panasonic’s financial profile had deteriorated since it bought out its two major consolidated subsidiaries, Sanyo Electric and Panasonic Electric Works, last April.

Sony’s rating was cut to Baa1 from A3 and Panasonic’s to A2 from A1, with the outlook negative for both.

Sony has said it expects to make a loss of 175 billion yen ($2.27 billion) on TVs in the year to March but aims to halve that loss next year and make a profit on them in the year after that, after nine straight years in the red.

Sony Ericsson, the company’s phone joint venture, also posted an unexpected loss this week, casting a shadow over Sony’s plan to take full control of the business next month in a bid to better compete with Apple Inc and Samsung.

Unless a significant improvement in Sony’s financial profile seems likely in the year starting on April 1 its ratings could be reviewed for action in a relatively short time, Moody’s said.