Hitachi posts profit jump

A Hitachi logo is pictured on the side of a building in Tokyo in this file picture. Reuters

A Hitachi logo is pictured on the side of a building in Tokyo in this file picture. Reuters

Published May 12, 2014

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Tokyo - Japan's Hitachi said Monday group net profit surged 51.1 percent in the full year to March, thanks to improved sales in information systems and its social infrastructure business.

Net profit soared to 264.98 billion yen ($2.60 billion), the electronics and machinery maker said.

Operating profit rose 26.3 percent to 532.81 billion yen on sales of 9.62 trillion yen, a rise of 6.4 percent from a year earlier.

Revenue and profits in its power generation systems business sank as its thermal power plants business was integrated into a joint venture with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.

But the slump was more than offset by robust business in elevators for the Chinese market and in information systems, Hitachi said.

Household appliances, such as refrigerators, also fared well due to a rush in demand ahead of a sales tax hike in April, it said.

Consumption tax in Japan rose from five to eight percent at the start of the month.

A number of consumer-facing industries reported a surge in sales in the final weeks of the financial year as buyers rushed to make purchases before the price went up.

Hitachi's bottom line was also lifted by gains on the evaluation of shares it holds in the joint venture with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, it said.

Hitachi now expects a net profit of 230 billion yen for the full year to March 2015 on sales of 9.4 trillion yen. - Sapa-AFP

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