Sharp to post group net profit in FY2013 on LCD panel sales

Senin, 22 April 2013 01:05

(OSAKA-Kyodo) Struggling electronics maker Sharp Corp. is expected to post a group net profit of several billion yen for the current fiscal year through next March, sources close to the matter said Saturday.

The Osaka-based firm is likely to get out of the red on anticipated growth in sales of its mainstay liquid crystal display panels on the back of a weaker yen and its alliance with a major South Korean electronics company as well as its cost-cutting efforts, the sources said.

Sharp's two main creditor banks -- Mizuho Corporate Bank and the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ -- have said they would continue supporting the company on condition it posts a net profit in fiscal 2013.

The banks are also seeking an operating profit for the six-month period to March 31 this year, and Sharp is expected to be able to attain a profit of around 20 billion yen, the sources said.

Under the capital and business tie-up agreement with Samsung Electronics Co. announced in March, Sharp will expand its supply of LCD panels, including its advanced power-saving "Igzo" LCDs, to the South Korean firm.

The Japanese company is hoping to improve its equity-to-asset ratio, which had dropped to 9.6 percent as of the end of December, to 15 percent by the end of March 2016, they said.

For the fiscal year that ended in March, Sharp has projected that it will post a group net loss of 450 billion yen, with an operating loss of 155 billion yen on sales of 2.46 trillion yen.