Sharp posts fourth straight quarterly profit, lifts annual outlook
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Sharp Corp reported its fourth consecutive quarter of net profit on Friday and lifted its annual forecast, as efforts to rebuild lost presence in the global electronics market began to pay off.
"Sales of TVs were very strong in China," Executive Vice President Katsuaki Nomura told an earnings briefing. "Demand was also solid for displays for smartphones and tablets."
Sharp, a supplier to Apple Inc, posted net profit of 20.2 billion yen ($177 million) for the three months through September, reversing a year-earlier loss of 17.9 billion yen.
The result compared with the 14.62 billion yen average of five analyst estimates in a Thomson Reuters poll.
Sharp, now owned by Taiwan's Foxconn, lifted its profit forecast for the year through March to 69 billion yen from an initially estimated 59 billion yen.
If achieved, that would be its first annual profit in four years. It posted a loss of 24.9 billion yen a year prior.
Sharp, once the dominant leader in liquid crystal display panels, fell into a crisis amid price competition with Asian rivals, but Foxconn's acquisition last year and its cost-cutting drive have put the firm on a recovery track.
It is now hoping to regain a technological edge in ultra-high resolution television sets, smart housing devices and advanced displays for medical equipment and security systems.
The company in June applied for relisting on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
($1 = 114.1 yen)
(Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)
