Downgrade is the only thing on for TV manufacturers

Sony and Panasonic were both downgraded by Moody’s today due to losses made in the television business. Sony saw its corporate credit rating cut from A3 to Baa1 while Panasonic’s dropped from A1 to A2.

Panasonic’s debt profile decreased when it bought the remaining shares in two of its subsidiarys, Panasonic Electric and Sanyo Electrical, and Sony ended its contract with Samsung to provide screens in order to make them in-house. While these moves might be advantagous in the long term, Moody’s doesn’t expect to see a change of fortune in the TV business in the next two years and so both companies remain on outlook negative.