Alpine, Kenwood Report Solid 9 Months; Pioneer Lags

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JVCKenwood reported a dramatic swing to profitability for the nine months ending in January. Net sales rose to just shy of $2 billion compared to $1.98 billion (215,812 million yen) last year.  Net income totaled $16.8 million compared to a loss of $98.6 million for the period last year.

In the automotive sector JVCKenwood reported sales of $1.2 billion, up from $968 million a year ago. Operating income for the automotive sector swung to a profit of $42.4 million compared to a net loss of $3.3 million for the sector a year ago.

In JVCKenwood’s plan through 2020, it noted that it continues to expect profitability in the aftermarket “due to a smaller-than-expected market shrinking.”

Alpine Stays Profitable, But Profits Decline

Alpine has remained profitable during for the nine months ending in January, but less profitable than a year ago.  Profits fell to $54.5 million for the period, down from $73 million a year ago. Sales rose almost 9 percent during the period, totaling $1.8 billion (197 billion yen).

Based on these results, Alpine raised its forecast for full year results ending in March.  It now expects sales to reach $2.45 billion, up from the earlier forecast of $2.36 billion with earnings of $54.5 million, up from an earlier forecast of $43.6 million.

Alpine mentioned an interesting trend in its report on the audio segment of its business (it separates audio-only car radios from its Information/navigation radio and technology business).  It reported seeing new ”attention being focused on sound quality,” so Alpine “carried out aggressive promotional activities with the aim of increasing aftermarket sales,” in Japan. In particular, it beefed up its demo car program in Japan to attend festivals and show off sound quality.

Audio sales increased on the OEM side. Alpine reported its OEM slimline speaker sales and its “free layout speakers” plus high end amplifiers and speakers aimed at the luxury car market together increased 21 percent to $359 million (39.3 billion yen).

OEM information/communication sales increased 6.2 percent to $1.4 billion.

As we’ve reported earlier Alpine is aiming to achieve “volume production” of heads up displays that use Augmented Reality developed along with Konica Minolta.

And it’s also working to win orders for its own Alpine Style Customized Cars.

Pioneer Posts Rough Results

For the first nine months of the year Pioneer reports lower sales and higher net loss than a year ago.

Sales declined 6 percent to almost $2.5 billion , down from $2.65 billion (288,802 million yen) a year ago.

The company saw a net loss of $50.5 million during the period compared to a net loss of $27.8 million a year ago.

For the quarter (November- January), sales also declined and operating income dropped by 97 percent to $578,000 compared to $17.2 million for the quarter a year ago. Nevertheless, Pioneer narrowed its loss for the quarter to $26.2 million compared to $36.6 million a year ago.

Pioneer cited lower sales in navigation and in audio products in North America for the third quarter.  Globally, car electronics fell 2.9 percent for Pioneer, to sales of $697 million.

As a results, Pioneer revised downward its forecasts for the full year, now expecting a loss of $27.5 million. It previously forecast a net income of $32 million for the year.