February 22, 2001–Osaka, Japan–Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. recently cut its earnings projection in half for the fiscal year that ends March 31, 2001.

The company now says it will make about $450 million (Y50 billion) less than it thought for the fiscal year that ends March 31, 2001. That brings the integrated electronics giant’s projected net income down to a scant $465 million (Y52 billion), or about 1% on each dollar of sales. It also reduced it sales estimate to $67.5 billion (Y7560 billion), a 4% increase in yen for the year instead of the 5% increase it had earlier projected.