Big TV makers are bracing for a holiday price war

Sony Friday gave up on a goal to profit from televisions this fiscal year and Panasonic forecast price drops will deepen this quarter. Earlier, Samsung Electronics predicted “severe’’ competition for the year-end season, echoing comments from LG Electronics.

Projections from the world’s four largest TV makers signal the industry will fail to capitalize on the biggest sales quarter of the year, with some analysts predicting prices to fall as much as 25 percent in 2010.

“There’s going to be a price war this Christmas season, and there’s no way around that,’’ said Tsutomu Yamada, a market analyst in Tokyo. “The whole strategy this year is ‘sell earlier and sell for less.’ That makes life miserable for the manufacturers.’’

TV makers were betting earlier this year that pricier LED TVs with brighter screens or 3-D sets would keep prices from falling the typical 20 percent to 25 percent annually, according to Atul Goyal, a senior research analyst at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets in Singapore. That bet hasn’t materialized as pessimism has increased recently and US shoppers aren’t willing to pay extra for higher quality sets.

“Consumers are saying, ‘I like the product, but I don’t want to pay a 30 percent premium to the other one. I’ll wait,’ ’’ Goyal said. “Prices will have to come down. That’s a given.’’

Retailers like Target and Wal-Mart are sweetening discounts ahead of the holiday season to move merchandise as joblessness hovers near a 26-year high. Target, the second-biggest discounter behind Wal-Mart, said this month it would lower prices on more than 1,000 toys to attract shoppers. Wal-Mart responded with its own discounts.

Sony chief financial officer Masaru Kato said the maker of Bravia TVs is forecasting a loss from the business this fiscal year and the company is bracing for “harsh’’ competition. Sales of 3-D sets, projected to account for 10 percent of the 25 million annual TV target, are trailing Sony’s previous expectations.

Panasonic, the world’s biggest maker of plasma TVs, said falling prices, the stronger yen and more expensive raw materials prevented the maker of Viera TVs from raising its full-year profit forecast even though earnings during the first half exceeded the company’s projections. The yen trading near a 15-year high against the dollar isn’t helping.

“The strong yen will be a major hurdle in the TV business in the second half,’’ said Hideaki Kawai, the executive officer in charge of finance and accounting at Panasonic. “It’s an extremely severe situation.’’

South Korea’s Samsung and LG, the world’s two-biggest TV makers, have voiced similar concerns after the advantage of having a weaker won, the worst-performing major Asian currency during from April to June, dissipated.