Asia's tech giants see signs of revivalUpbeat earnings results from a trio of Asian high-tech titans raised hopes on Friday that the battered bat·ter 1 v. bat·tered, bat·ter·ing, bat·ters v.tr. 1. To hit heavily and repeatedly with violent blows. 2. To subject to repeated beatings or physical abuse. 3. industry is on the mend recovering from an illness or injury. See also: Mend after a worldwide plunge in demand for electronics due to the global recession. Japan's Panasonic and Toshiba returned to profit in the most recent quarter while South Korea's Samsung Electronics Samsung Electronics (SEC, Hangul:삼성전자; KSE: 005930, KSE: 005935, LSE: SMSN, LSE: SMSD) is a South Korean multinational corporation and the world's largest and leading electronics and information technology company. posted record earnings for the three months to September. Sony Corp. fared worse, however, remaining in the red in the most recent quarter in the face of weak demand for its electronics and fierce competition from Samsung. "Basically we lost to Samsung in terms of the attractiveness of products. We need to admit it," said chief financial officer Nobuyuki Oneda. Sony maintained its forecast for its first back-to-back annual losses since it was listed on the stock market in 1958, but it narrowed its loss forecast for the year to 95 billion yen from a previous projection of 120 billion. "In general, Japanese electronics makers are on course to a recovery after hitting bottom at the end of the previous fiscal year," said Hiroshi Sakai, chief economist The Chief Economist is a single position job class having primary responsibility for the development, coordination, and production of economic and financial analysis. It is distinguished from the other economist positions by the broader scope of responsibility encompassing the at SMBC SMBC Sumitomo-Mitsui Banking Corporation SMBC Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (UK) SMBC South Main Baptist Church SMBC Single Mother by Choice SMBC Stowe Mountain Bike Club (Stowe, VT) Friend Research Center. "But the crucial issue is the year-end shopping season, which will have big impact on their earnings for the fiscal year," he added. Samsung Electronics said its net profit more than tripled in the third quarter to 3.72 trillion One thousand times one billion, which is 1, followed by 12 zeros, or 10 to the 12th power. See space/time. (mathematics) trillion - In Britain, France, and Germany, 10^18 or a million cubed. In the USA and Canada, 10^12. won (3.13 billion dollars) as demand for flat-panel televisions, mobile phones and chips rose in an improving global economy. Vice president Robert Yi forecast a solid fourth quarter supported by seasonal demand for consumer electronics, but said the won's rise and increased marketing expenses may lead to a quarter-on-quarter decline in profit. "Samsung has made great progress in strengthening its market leadership throughout 2009, and we believe the outlook is positive for further growth as the global economic recovery continues into 2010," he said in a statement. Panasonic posted a net profit of 6.1 billion yen (67 million dollars) in the July-September quarter and narrowed its annual loss forecast to 140 billion yen from 195 billion yen. "Sales fell from a year earlier in all the regions of the world, but the performance is improving steadily," said chief financial officer Makoto Uenoyama. Toshiba logged a 94 million yen net profit for the July-September quarter, returning to the black after a year-earlier loss of 26.9 billion yen. Sony posted a net loss of 26.3 billion yen for the fiscal second quarter through September, swinging into the red after a 20.8-billion-yen profit a year earlier. Japan's high-tech giants have been badly hurt by the global economic slowdown For articles with similar titles, see Slow Down (disambiguation). A slowdown is an industrial action in which employees perform their duties but seek to reduce productivity or efficiency in their performance of these duties. , which bettered demand for their products and sent the yen soaring soaring: see flight; glider. soaring or gliding Sport of flying a glider or sailplane. The craft is towed behind a powered airplane to an altitude of about 2,000 ft (600 m) and then released. , reducing the value of their earnings from overseas markets. Sony chief executive Howard Stringer Sir Howard Stringer (born February 19, 1942) is a British businessman and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sony Corporation. Previously he was chief executive of Sony Corporation of America before being promoted to the highest post. is slashing slash·ing adj. 1. Bitingly critical or satiric: slashing wit. 2. Dashing; pelting: a slashing hailstorm. 3. 16,000 jobs and axing about 10 percent of the group's manufacturing plants in a bid to return to profit. The company has had a difficult few years in the face of tough competition from rival products such as Apple's iPod and Nintendo's Wii. In May Sony announced its first annual loss in 14 years. "We are making efforts to turn our game and television businesses back to black in the next fiscal year," Oneda told reporters. 
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