Hitachi Ltd. said on Feb. 4 it returned back to profit in the three months to December, revising up its annual forecast amid its rigorous restructuring.
Hitachi, with a product range from refrigerators to nuclear power systems, posted a net profit of 21.8 billion yen (US$239.79 million) for the quarter to December, against a year-earlier loss of 371 billion yen.
It posted an operating profit of 66.3 billion yen, compared with a 14.5 billion yen operating loss a year earlier. The company logged an operating loss of 24.8 billion yen for the first half of the fiscal year to September.
"The operating results returned to black thanks to restructuring efforts and higher sales of the social infrastructure division," which includes electric power generation, the company said.
"The healthier performance in the digital media and appliance division also made a profit thanks to the public incentive program for energy-efficient products" by the Japanese government, the company said.
Hitachi revised up its operating profit forecast in the year to March 2010 by nearly 70% to 135 billion yen and narrowed the forecast net loss to 210 billion yen.
Hitachi is restructuring after losing 787.3 billion yen in the year to March 2009 -- the biggest ever loss for a Japanese manufacturer.
The overhaul includes up to 7,000 job cuts and a tie-up in mobile telephones with fellow high-tech makers NEC and Casio Computer.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2010
