MCA’s Parent Firm Sees Sales, Profit Plunge in 2nd Quarter

The Japanese consumer electronics giant that owns entertainment conglomerate MCA Inc. saw its operating profit and revenue plunge in the second quarter ended Sept. 30, due to continued softness in the worldwide electronics market.

Matsushita Electric Industrial, whose brands include Panasonic and Technics, said its operating profit fell 32% to $350 million, while net sales fell 10% to $15.47 billion. Revenue for its entertainment unit, which is mostly Universal City-based MCA, fell 4% to $1.3 billion in the quarter.

But the drop in the results for Matsushita’s entertainment business is misleading because it is due entirely to the strength of the yen, reflecting the results after dollars are converted to the Japanese currency. Actually, the company said, revenue at the entertainment unit was up before being converted to yen, thanks to contributions from hit movies such as “Scent of a Woman” and a strong performance by MCA’s music and theme park businesses.

The huge summer box office hit “Jurassic Park,” released in June by MCA’s Universal Pictures unit, was not a major contributor to Matsushita’s latest results because of an accounting quirk. MCA’s results lag Matsushita’s by one quarter. The bulk of the revenue from “Jurassic Park,” which has grossed more than $840 million to date worldwide, will not begin showing up in Matsushita’s results until the next reporting period.