Latest news with #KantaroKomiya
Mint
2 days ago
- Automotive
- Mint
Panasonics battery unit profit grows 47% y/y in Q1 on AI boom
TOKYO (Reuters) -Panasonic on Wednesday said operating profit at its battery-making energy unit grew strongly in the first quarter due to the AI investment boom, offsetting negative impacts from U.S. tariffs and the termination of electric vehicle tax credits. Profit for the key unit, which makes batteries for Tesla and other EV makers, rose 47% year-on-year to 31.9 billion yen ($215.6 million). "Concerns remain over a further slowdown in EV demand due to U.S. tariff policies and termination of IRA 30D tax credit", Panasonic said in a presentation slide, but noted demand for data centre-bound energy storage systems is "growing more than anticipated". For the full-year that ends in March 2026, the company kept its operating profit forecast for the energy unit at 167 billion yen. Panasonic Holdings said in May it would cut 10,000 staff and expected to book restructuring costs of 130 billion yen as part of a push to improve group profitability. The electronics manufacturer said at the time it did not expect to book any restructuring costs in its energy business. Last week, Panasonic Energy's major customer Tesla warned of fallout from the U.S. government's legislation to cut a $7,500 tax credit for EV buyers. Panasonic Energy operates a plant in the U.S. state of Nevada that provides batteries to Tesla and earlier this month started production at its second U.S. plant, in Kansas. It also makes energy storage systems for data centres in its consumer business, which in the April-June quarter saw a rapid rise in demand owing to massive AI-related investments, the company said. But both auto batteries and consumer energy storage systems would see certain impact from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, it added, without providing the impact forecast in numerical terms. Panasonic Energy is investing in new battery technologies as it competes with Chinese and South Korean rivals such as CATL and LG Energy Solution (LGES) in the global EV supply chain. Last week, LGES warned of slowing demand by early next year due to U.S. tariffs and policy uncertainties after it reported a profit jump for the April-June period. (Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Writing by Daniel Leussink; Editing by Christopher Cushing and David Holmes)
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Japan's May real wages fall the most in nearly two years
By Kantaro Komiya TOKYO (Reuters) -Japanese real wages in May fell at the fastest pace in nearly two years as persistent inflation continued to outpace wage growth and hinder consumption-led growth in the world's fourth-largest economy, government data showed on Monday. While a labour group report last week showed unionised Japanese workers had their biggest average pay hike in 34 years, the feeble broader wage data spells concerns about Japan's economic recovery amid uncertainties over U.S. trade tariffs. Inflation-adjusted real wages fell 2.9% in May from a year earlier, following a revised 2.0% drop in April, and the steepest decline in 20 months, labour ministry data showed. Real wages, a key determinant of households' purchasing power, fell for the fifth consecutive month. The consumer inflation rate the ministry uses to calculate real wages, which includes fresh food prices but not rent costs, rose 4.0% year-on-year in May. That far outpaced growth of nominal pay, or total average cash earnings, which rose 1.0% to 300,141 yen ($2,080) in May, decelerating significantly from a revised 2.0% gain in April and the slowest since March 2024. The main culprit behind the nominal pay growth slowdown was an 18.7% fall in special payments, which are mainly made up of volatile one-off bonuses, according to a labour ministry official. Meanwhile, regular pay or base salary increased 2.0% in May, and overtime pay rose 1.0%, both slowing compared to April. The result of spring labour negotiations may not be significantly reflected in the wage statistics until summer, the official said, adding many respondents in the government survey are small firms that have no labour unions and are slower to adopt pay hikes than big corporations. Data last week showed Japanese household spending surged in May at the fastest pace in nearly three years, offering some hope that consumption might be turning a corner despite cost pressures and wage-inflation gap. Wage trends remain crucial for sustaining this consumption momentum and are among the key factors the Bank of Japan (BOJ) is monitoring to determine the timing of the next interest rate hike. But uncertainties around trade conditions and the global economy threaten the outlook. The looming U.S. tariffs on Japanese exports could squeeze corporate profits, potentially undermining future wage growth and complicating the BOJ's monetary policy normalization schedule. ($1 = 144.2500 yen) Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Star
06-07-2025
- Automotive
- The Star
Nissan considers Foxconn EV output to save Oppama from closure, Nikkei says
FILE PHOTO: A flag flutters at Nissan Motor's Oppama plant in Yokosuka, Tokyo, Japan May 23, 2025. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo TOKYO (Reuters) -Nissan Motor is in discussions with Taiwan's Foxconn about a collaboration in electric vehicles that could save its Oppama plant in Japan from closure, the Nikkei business daily reported on Sunday, citing an unidentified Nissan source. Nissan's Oppama plant, which employs about 3,900 workers, has been a potential consolidation target in the struggling Japanese carmaker's restructuring plans, but the floated idea of producing Foxconn-brand EVs at its idle assembly lines could preserve the jobs and supplier networks, Nikkei said. (Reporting by Kantaro Komiya; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
Yahoo
18-06-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Honda conducts surprise reusable rocket test, aims spaceflight by 2029
By Kantaro Komiya TOKYO (Reuters) -Honda succeeded in a launch and landing test of its prototype reusable rocket on Tuesday, the Japanese company said in a surprise announcement, marking a milestone towards its 2029 goal of achieving a suborbital spaceflight. Honda R&D, the research arm of Japan's second-biggest carmaker, successfully landed its 6.3-metre (20.6-foot) experimental reusable launch vehicle after reaching an altitude of 271 metres (889 feet) at its test facility in northern Japan's space town Taiki, according to the company. While "no decisions have been made regarding commercialization of these rocket technologies, Honda will continue making progress in the fundamental research with a technology development goal of realizing technological capability to enable a suborbital launch by 2029," it said in a statement. Honda in 2021 said it was studying space technologies such as reusable rockets, but it has not previously announced the details of the launch test. A suborbital launch may touch the verge of outer space but does not enter orbit. Studying launch vehicles "has the potential to contribute more to people's daily lives by launching satellites with its own rockets, that could lead to various services that are also compatible with other Honda business," the company added. Reusable launch vehicles have been the driver of emerging commercial space missions over the past decade, led by SpaceX's Falcon 9, while its U.S. rivals including Blue Origin and companies in China and Europe also have reusable rocket plans. Tokyo-based startup Innovative Space Carrier last month said it will test-launch a prototype reusable rocket in the United States in December using an American engine. Honda's rival Toyota, the world's biggest automaker by sales, earlier this year announced an investment by its research arm in Taiki-based rocket maker Interstellar Technologies to support mass production of launch vehicles. Japan's government has established a multibillion-dollar space venture fund to subsidise private rockets, satellites and other missions, targeting to double its space industry's size to 8 trillion yen ($55.20 billion) by the early 2030s. ($1 = 144.9200 yen)
Japan Today
17-06-2025
- Automotive
- Japan Today
Honda conducts reusable rocket test; aims for space flight by 2029
By Kantaro Komiya Honda succeeded in a launch and landing test of its prototype reusable rocket on Tuesday, the Japanese company said in a surprise announcement, marking a milestone towards its 2029 goal of achieving a suborbital spaceflight. Honda R&D, the research arm of Japan's second-biggest carmaker, successfully landed its 6.3-meter experimental reusable launch vehicle after reaching an altitude of 271 meters at its test facility in northern Japan's space town Taiki, according to the company. While "no decisions have been made regarding commercialization of these rocket technologies, Honda will continue making progress in the fundamental research with a technology development goal of realizing technological capability to enable a suborbital launch by 2029," it said in a statement. Honda in 2021 said it was studying space technologies such as reusable rockets, but it has not previously announced the details of the launch test. A suborbital launch may touch the verge of outer space but does not enter orbit. Studying launch vehicles "has the potential to contribute more to people's daily lives by launching satellites with its own rockets, that could lead to various services that are also compatible with other Honda business," the company added. Reusable launch vehicles have been the driver of emerging commercial space missions over the past decade, led by SpaceX's Falcon 9, while its U.S. rivals including Blue Origin and companies in China and Europe also have reusable rocket plans. Tokyo-based startup Innovative Space Carrier last month said it will test-launch a prototype reusable rocket in the United States in December using an American engine. Honda's rival Toyota, the world's biggest automaker by sales, earlier this year announced an investment by its research arm in Taiki-based rocket maker Interstellar Technologies to support mass production of launch vehicles. Japan's government has established a multibillion-dollar space venture fund to subsidize private rockets, satellites and other missions, targeting to double its space industry's size to 8 trillion yen ($55.20 billion) by the early 2030s. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
