企業の好決算 賃上げの実現に弾みつけたい

The Yomiuri Shimbun November 8, 2013
Positive corporate earnings must translate into higher wages
企業の好決算　賃上げの実現に弾みつけたい（11月7日付・読売社説）

Many companies are reporting good corporate earnings, backed by the tailwind created primarily by Abenomics, the economic policies of the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, which turned the hyper-appreciation of the yen into depreciation.
　超円高を円安に反転させた安倍政権の経済政策「アベノミクス」などを追い風に、企業の好決算が相次いでいる。

Companies must now take preparatory steps for future growth.
　求められるのは、将来の成長へ布石を打つことだ。

If companies with healthy earnings take the brave step of raising wages and expanding job opportunities, and household budgets sufficiently increase, corporate performance will improve even further. Bringing about such a virtuous cycle would guarantee a self-sustaining business recovery led by private sector demand.
　好調な企業が賃上げや雇用拡大に踏み切り、家計も潤えば、個人消費拡大などを通じて企業業績がさらに好転する――。そうした好循環につなげ、民需主導の自律的な景気回復を確実にしたい。

Announcements are in full swing now of the interim consolidated settlements of accounts for the first half for fiscal 2013 for companies listed on the First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
　東証１部上場企業の２０１３年９月中間連結決算の発表がピークを迎えている。

About 60 percent of the companies reported increases in both revenue and profits, with many companies reporting record profits. About 30 percent of the firms revised upward their earnings outlooks for the entire business year ending March 2014.
　約６割が増収増益となり、最高益を記録した企業が多い。１４年３月期の通期見通しを上方修正した企業も３割に上る。

The Japanese economy has faced such headwinds over the last several years as the collapse of the Lehman Brothers shock, the Great East Japan Earthquake and the hyper-appreciation of the yen.
　日本経済はここ数年、リーマン・ショックや東日本大震災、超円高の逆風にさらされてきた。

However, a number of factors have since pushed up corporate income, including a round of corporate restructuring and other necessary structural reform measures, as well as the depreciation of the yen, higher stock prices and recovery in personal consumption brought about by Abenomics. The business recovery in the United States also helped increase corporate income.
　しかし、リストラなどの構造改革の一巡に加え、アベノミクスによる円安や株高、個人消費の回復、米国景気回復が好材料となった。

We can safely say now is the turning point for major corporations to escape their weak performances.
主要企業が業績低迷を脱する転換点を迎えたと言えよう。

The prime examples are export-oriented industries that fully utilized the advantages of the yen’s depreciation.
　代表的なのが、円安メリットを最も生かした輸出産業である。

Riding the wave

Toyota Motor Corp. has massively increased its profit due to healthy sales of hybrid vehicles in North America and elsewhere. It forecasts an operating profit of ¥2.2 trillion for the current business year, recovering to the ¥2 trillion level for the first time in six years.
　トヨタ自動車は、北米などでのハイブリッド車販売が好調で大幅増益となり、今年度の営業利益は２・２兆円と６年ぶりの２兆円台回復を予想している。

Honda Motor Co., which is strong in the eco-cars currently popular among drivers, also made good earnings, while companies like leading minivehicle maker Suzuki Motor Corp. recorded their largest profits ever.
　人気のエコカーに強みがあるホンダも好決算で、軽自動車のスズキなどが最高益を記録した。

In the electronics industry, Panasonic Corp., which suffered from huge deficits for two consecutive years, returned to the black in a V-shaped recovery. The company beefed up its competitive sectors, withdrew from the deficit-ridden plasma display TV business, and took a scrap-and-build approach to unprofitable businesses. The effects of such reform measures are apparently being seen.
　電機業界では、２年連続で巨額赤字だったパナソニックがＶ字回復で黒字転換した。競争力のある事業を伸ばし、赤字のプラズマテレビ事業から撤退して不採算事業は統廃合する。そんな改革が功を奏し始めたのだろう。

However, some export-oriented companies continue to face hardships as they cannot ride the wave of recovery.
　一方、輸出産業でも、波に乗れずに試練が続く企業がある。

Nissan Motor Co.’s business expansion strategy is spinning its wheels. Although it counted on rapid growth in emerging economies such as Russia and Brazil, it was unable to get the results it expected from such countries. Sony Corp. saw poor sales in liquid crystal display TVs and digital cameras, largely affected by the business slump in emerging countries.
　日産自動車は拡大路線が空回りし、急成長を見込んだロシア、ブラジルなどの新興国市場が振るわなかった。ソニーも液晶テレビやデジタルカメラが不振で、新興国の景気低迷が響いた。

The companies need to accurately grasp growth markets and concentrate their management resources in such markets and decide how to sell strategic commodities. The “selection and concentration” strategy in businesses is now increasingly vital.
　成長市場を見極めて経営資源を集中し、戦略商品をどう展開するか。事業の「選択と集中」の重要性が一段と増している。

Among companies fueled by domestic demand, East Japan Railway Co. and Oriental Land Co., the operator of Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba Prefecture, achieved positive earnings, but retailing businesses in general were unable to increase their earnings to a satisfactory extent, revealing the gap in earning capability between them.
　内需型産業では、ＪＲ東日本や東京ディズニーリゾートを運営するオリエンタルランドなどが好業績だった反面、小売業はやや伸び悩み、収益力に差が出た。

There is concern regarding the future of the economies in emerging countries, as well as anxiety over possible further increases in electricity rates due to the delay in reactivating idle nuclear reactors. No company should let its guard down in the days to come. It is indispensable for them to reinforce their business strategies from both offensive and defensive standpoints.
　新興国経済には先行き不安があり、原発再稼働遅れに伴う電気料金値上げも懸念される。企業各社は今後も油断せず、攻守両にらみの戦略強化が欠かせない。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nov. 7, 2013)
（2013年11月7日01時36分 読売新聞）