JVCKenwood and Alps Alpine both reported lower sales and profits for their infotainment sectors during the nine month period ended December 31, 2021. However, total corporate profits, including all sectors rose for both companies.
JVC Kenwood’s total sales fell slightly to $1.689 billion compared to $1.691 billion a year ago. Net profits rose slightly to $4.37 million compared to $4.31 million a year ago.
The company’s mobility and telematics sector (including infotainment) saw sales fall slightly to $969 million compared to $980 million a year ago. Operating income in the sector swung to a loss of $11.5 million compared to positive income of $24.3 million a year ago.
Operating income for the total company (including the public and media service sectors) rose to $31.5 million compared to $17.8 million a year ago.
Alps Alpine’s sales increased overall and it swung to a profit, but its automotive infotainment sector saw a 5 percent decline and a widening in operating loss.
In the automotive infotainment segment, net sales fell to $1.46 billion. The sector also doubled its operating loss to $43.4 million, compared to $21.7 million for the period a year ago.
Alps Alpine reported the declines were due to a decrease in sales of display products because of shortages of LCD materials. It also reported an end to certain shipments to European OEMs.
In terms of profits in infotainment, Alps Alpine said it suffered from “spiking logistics costs and increases in prices of materials, mainly for semiconductors…”
In presenting its earnings, Alps Alpine said of the general business environment that the semiconductor shortage has not been solved and the supply chain crisis “is becoming more serious since the supply of parts other than semiconductors has become unstable.”
For the nine months ending December 31, 2021, Alps Alpine overall (including electronic components) reported a jump in sales to $13.8 billion, up from $13.3 billion a year ago. It swung to a profit of $128 million (14.7 billion yen), compared to a loss of $19 million during the same period last year.
Total operating income rose to $242 million compared to $75 million a year ago.
