Hitachi, Japan's largest electronics conglomerate, swung back to profitability in the latest quarter on a pick-up in demand and cost cuts, and forecast profit growth of 68 per cent this year.
Hitachi, a sprawling conglomerate that makes everything from nuclear power plants to rice cookers, posted an operating profit of 160.56 billion yen ($1.72 billion) for January-March, against a loss of 55.4 billion yen loss a year ago.
The result was in line with Hitachi's own forecast for a 158.4 billion yen profit, which it had revised up late last month, citing deeper cost cutting and brisk demand for power generation systems and electronic devices.
Hitachi joined Panasonic and Toshiba Corp as the latest Japanese electronics maker to offer a brighter outlook for the year ahead, as the global economic recovery supports consumer and corporate spending.
The company forecast an annual operating profit of 340 billion yen for the year to March 2011.
Reuters