Murata’s Capacitor Sales Increased 34% In June Quarter; Down 29.1% Year-Over Year

Murata Manufacturing Company Limited of Japan, the world’s largest capacitor manufacturer,reported a 34% increase in capacitor sales between the quarter ending March 31, 2009, and the quarter ending June 30, 2009. During that time period, Murata’s capacitor sales increased from 28.49 billion yen to 38.20 billion yen. In comparison to the June quarter of 2008 however, capacitor sales remain down by 29.1%. Murata noted that on a year-over-year basis, sales of chip monolithic capacitors, and application specific ceramic capacitors for the computer industry had shown significant declines. For the company as a whole, June 2009 quarterly revenues were 117.5 billion yen, up by 26.1% on a quarter-to-quarter basis, but down 20.4% on a year-over-year basis in comparison to the June 2008 quarter, when total consolidated revenues were 147.6 billion yen. Murata noted that unit shipments of components in the June 2009 quarter were up sequentially, but price erosion, and the appreciation of yen to the US dollar, limited sequential value growth. On a regional basis, sales in the Japanese market for the June 2009 quarter remained down by 18% on a year-over-year basis; while sales to the Americas were down by 39%; sales to Europe were down by 30%, and sales to Asia were down 11%. Sequentially, on a quarter-to-quarter basis in 2009, all regions showed improvement for Murata, with sales to the Japanese market (including intersegment sales) increasing by 34%, sales to Asia increasing by 33%, sales to Europe increasing 17%, and sales to the Americas increasing by 2%. For the September 2009 quarter, Murata is forecasting 12.5% revenue growth on a sequential basis to 132 billion yen for the company as a whole. To see this issue of Passive Component Industry Magazine go here.