Panasonic Corp. on Monday fell for a third day to its lowest level in 37 years after widening its loss estimate on restructuring costs and falling demand.
Japan's second-largest TV maker fell 5.6 percent to ¥388 in Tokyo trading. That's the lowest since February 1975, the year the Betamax video recorder was introduced. The stock has declined 41 percent this year, the ninth-largest drop among companies in the Nikkei 225 stock average.
The company, founded in 1918, predicted a net loss of ¥765 billion in the year ending March 31, scrapping its May projection of ¥50 billion in profit, it said last Wednesday.
The forecast prompted Panasonic to say it won't pay a dividend for the first time since 1950 because of an "urgent need" to improve its financial position.
"It's difficult to see much hope," said Amir Anvarzadeh, Singapore-based manager for Asia equity sales at BGC Partners Inc., "Panasonic has no notable edge in audio and video."
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.