Kyocera said it was feeling the sting of a harsh economy, reporting dismal results for its first fiscal quarter of 2010. The Japanese electronics manufacturer said weak demand for its consumer products and industrial components, combined with appreciation of the yen against the Euro and the U.S. dollar, were the reasons for disappointing earnings.

The Japanese yen appreciated 8 percent against the U.S. dollar, and 18 percent against the Euro, compared with the previous first quarter. As a result, for calculation purposes, first-quarter net sales were reduced by $198 million, and income before taxes was reduced by $57 million.

In a press release, the company said that despite cost-cutting measures and reduced capital expenditures, Kyocera still recorded a loss from operations totaling $58 million, a decrease of $349 million from the previous first quarter. As a result, income before income taxes decreased by 98.1 percent year over year. 

Although the global economy is expected to hit bottom and gradually improve, Kyocera said it expects true economic recovery to take more time. As a result, the company has not changed the consolidated financial forecasts for fiscal 2010 that were announced on April 27.

In April, the company projected a decline in sales for fiscal 2010 compared with fiscal 2009, saying it would “execute all-out cost cutting and reduction of capital expenditures” with an aim to “achieve profit growth compared with fiscal 2009.”

In January of 2009, Kyocera International, the North American regional holding company for the Kyocera Group, announced a reorganization of its U.S.-based handset groups, Kyocera Wireless and Kyocera Sanyo Telecom. Kyocera consolidated the two groups, eliminating about 360 jobs in the process.