TOKYO (Kyodo) – Upward revisions in employment forecasts for this fiscal year by Japanese-listed companies have been three times that of declining ones, as cautious views on the impact of new virus virus to launch vaccines in February, according to a research firm.
An improvement in their forecasts for the year to March 2021 helped pull the Nikkei stock index up above last year’s 30-year high, Teikoku Databank said in a review report on listed companies that will closing their books in March.
Some 802 companies had revised their sales forecasts by the end of February, and 604 or 75 percent raised their lead, while 198 reduced it, according to the recent survey. The manufacturers made up about half of the companies had revised their forecasts.
When initial employment forecasts were released, mostly after the first state of emergency over the coronavirus in April in Japan, many companies were “aware of the risk” of the virus and the impact reflected in their estimates, said Teikoku Databank.
But “the fact that domestic vaccinations in February helped start the highest number of monthly reviews up” of 313 per month and “was a factor” for the Nikkei index to finish above the 30,000 mark for the for the first time since August 1990 on February 15, the research firm said.
Some companies are “increasingly increasing employment” by taking advantage of demand arising from the need to stay at home in the pandemic, while many others are struggling with changes in approach. life, he said.
Thog Sony Corp. last month the net profit forecast for the year through March 31 to 1.09 trillion yen ($ 10 billion), driven by stronger demand for its new PlayStation 5 video game console as people spend more time at home playing games.
The electronic giant stopped giving an employment forecast when he reported employment in May, citing uncertainty arising from the worldwide spread of the virus and giving his first lead in August.
Thog Panasonic Corp. its earnings forecast for the current year through March last month on home appliance hardware sales.