Fujitsu Sales Fall in Q1

TOKYO -- Fujitsu Limited today reported consolidated net sales of 982.9 billion yen for the first quarter of fiscal year 2002 (April 1 - June 30, 2002), a 10% decrease from the first quarter of fiscal 2001. Converted into US dollars, this represents approximately $8.1 billion.Fujitsu faced a difficult business environment during the quarter. Although the impact of the bursting of the IT bubble in the United States spread throughout the globe, continuing to depress markets, there were signs of recovery in the U.S., Asia and Japan, and there was an overall sense of bottoming out. However, with the worsening deterioration of the U.S. telecommunications sector, together with disruptions from the sharp fall in stock prices and the weakening value of the dollar precipitated by accounting scandals and other issues in the U.S., future prospects have become extremely difficult to predict.Amidst this economic environment, during the quarter there was firm demand in Japan for software and services, and the supply/demand balance for logic ICs and other semiconductor devices improved, especially overseas. However, telecommunications carriers - especially in North America - further tightened restraints on investment, and recovery in corporate and individual demand for personal computers and other IT-related products was uneven. These and other factors adversely impacted Fujitsu's business.Fujitsu reported a first quarter consolidated operating loss of 29.0 billion yen (US$242 million), an improvement of 13.3 billion yen over the operating loss recorded during the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal year. Due in part to costs associated with continuing restructuring efforts, the company posted a net loss for the period of 56.4 billion yen (US$470 million), compared with a net loss of 55.4 billion during the corresponding period last year.In order to cope with dramatic changes in the IT sector and create a structure better able to meet market and customer needs, Fujitsu has since last year aggressively pursued a large-scale corporate restructuring program. Now, the recent turmoil in the U.S. economy and other factors presage even more drastic changes to the business environment in which the Fujitsu Group operates. Recognizing the need to further increase operational efficiency, Fujitsu will not waver in its commitment to structural reform.Fujitsu Ltd.