Samusng Post First Quarterly Loss

Author JoeDigital

Samsung Electronics, the South Korea-based electronics giant, posted the first quarterly loss in its history on Friday. In large part, the loss was due to decreased memory chip and display units sales, which have dropped dramatically during the global economic slump.

The posted loss, through December 31st, 2008, was 14.4 million dollars, a sharp contrast to the 2.2 trillion profit posted only a year earlier. Samsung is not alone in taking losses, either, with Sony Corp. reporting their first annual loss in 14 years on Thursday.

LG Electronics reported a record loss, and Panasonic Corporation has announced shutting unprofitable aspects of their business, and reducing planned 2009 investments by 1.5 billion dollars. This cut is primarily the cancellation of two nw flat-screen TV plants that had been intended.

Business all over the world are feeling the crunch of tougher economic times, but perhaps none more so than the electronics sector, which has long based growth on continuous competitive developments in technology. One consequence of smaller budgets will be less investment into research, which means a complete slow down of the entire technology development process.

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