Pounded by the recession, companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's First Section posted combined consolidated sales of 587.0152 trillion yen in fiscal 2008, down 48.2693 trillion yen from the previous year, a survey showed.
Together, the companies reported a net loss of 3.2 trillion yen, according to the survey by brokerage Nikko Cordial Securities Inc.
The 7.6-percent decline in sales as well as the size of the net loss are likely the worst ever, Nikko Cordial said.
It was also the first time in seven years for both combined sales and combined profits to fall.
The figures were based on earnings reports of 1,348, or 99.8 percent, of First Section companies that closed their books on March 31.
The drop in combined sales was larger than the 29.375 trillion yen decline in fiscal 1998. However, the fiscal 2008 figure was on a consolidated basis, while the fiscal 1998 figure was on an unconsolidated basis.
The fiscal 1998 drop had previously been the largest recorded since fiscal 1979, the year the TSE began releasing business performance statistics on all listed companies on an unconsolidated basis.
The combined net loss more than tripled the 966.9-billion-yen loss registered in fiscal 2001, the only year to date when combined net balances were in the red.
According to the Nikko Cordial survey, combined sales at manufacturers tumbled 36.4 trillion yen, or 10.9 percent, in fiscal 2008 from a year earlier.
Financial companies' combined sales fell 5.7 trillion yen, or 12.3 percent, while other nonmanufacturers' combined sales declined 6 trillion yen, or 2.4 percent.
Nonmanufacturers, excluding financial firms, posted a combined net profit of 3.8 trillion yen. However, manufacturers and financial companies had a combined net loss of 3.6 trillion yen and 3.5 trillion yen, respectively.
In all 33 industrial sectors, combined net profits decreased, with combined net balances falling into the red in 17 sectors.
Of the 1,348 companies, 1,301 firms released earnings forecasts for fiscal 2009. Overall, combined sales are expected to drop 12 percent from fiscal 2008 levels.
While the combined net balance is forecast to return to the black, it will be much smaller than that of fiscal 2007.
The figure is likely to remain in the red for the first half of fiscal 2009.(IHT/Asahi: May 23,2009)