Hitachi Is Profitable AgainHitachi Is Profitable Again

TOKYO (AP) -- Japanese electronics maker Hitachi returned to profitability in the latest quarter, helped by cost cutting and improving sales of hard-disk drives and mobile phone displays.

Hitachi on Tuesday reported a profit of 1.3 billion yen ($10.8 million) for the October-December quarter in contrast to a loss of 115.8 billion yen a year earlier. Sales rose 5% to 1.9 trillion yen ($15.8 billion) from 1.8 trillion yen a year earlier.

The better performance came mainly from lower costs and strong demand in the United States and Asia, the Tokyo-based company said.

Hitachi reaffirmed its profit forecast for the fiscal year ending on March 31, 2003, at 36 billion yen ($300 million) on sales of 8 trillion yen ($66.6 billion), citing a possible war in Iraq and the Japanese economy's dismal prospects.

Last week, Hitachi announced a plan to discard money-losing businesses that now account for 20% of its revenue. But it did not give details, leaving many investors skeptical about its ability to focus on core businesses.

Hitachi president Etsuhiko Shoyama told reporters then that Hitachi strives to be a company that can be counted on for ``everything.''

In its electronics device business, Hitachi posted an 11% sales increase for the quarter, mainly in liquid crystal displays for mobile phones, totaling 378 billion yen ($3 billion). But the business still had an operating loss of 6 billion yen ($50 million) versus a loss of 54 billion yen for the same quarter in fiscal 2001.

Hitachi sales in information and telecommunication systems jumped 10 percent to 409.6 billion yen ($3.4 billion) for the quarter on solid hard-disk drive sales. The business recorded operating income of 1.8 billion yen ($15 million) versus a loss of 13.5 billion yen a year earlier.

Sales edged up in digital media and consumer products by 1 percent to 307 billion yen ($2.6 billion). Demand for plasma TVs and lithium-ion batteries for cell phones was strong, and operating income in this section more than quadrupled to 2.7 billion yen.

For the nine months ended Dec. 31, Hitachi earned 14 billion yen ($116.5 million), versus a loss of 226 billion yen a year ago. Sales rose to 5.84 trillion yen ($49 billion) from 5.77 trillion yen a year ago.

On the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Hitachi shares closed unchanged at 521 yen ($4.34) after its earnings report was announced.

Like Hitachi, other Japanese electronics makers have cut costs, including trimming thousands of jobs, and are reporting better results this year. Their profits had been battered by competition from Asian rivals.