Electronics maker NEC's profit more than doubles

NEC Corp.'s profit for the fiscal year through March more than doubled from the previous year as the Japanese electronics maker's mobile phone and computer-chip businesses swung to profit.

NEC, which did not provide numbers for the quarter, reported Thursday a 22.68 billion yen ($216 million) profit for the fiscal year ended March 31 _ a dramatic rise from 9.13 billion yen profit the previous year.

Fiscal year sales inched down 0.8 percent to 4.617 trillion yen ($44 billion) from 4.653 trillion yen.

NEC said sales dropped in electronic parts and in its personal computer business in Europe.

But costs cuts and other efforts buoyed profit, the company said. NEC's cell phone business had been losing money overseas, and its decision to withdraw from the overseas market in that sector stopped the red ink, it said.

The Tokyo-based maker of computer and network equipment is projecting a continuing recovery for the fiscal year through March 2009.

NEC expects profit for the year to surge 54 percent to 35 billion yen ($333.3 million) and sales to climb 4 percent to 4.8 trillion yen ($45.7 billion).

NEC shares rose 5 percent to 551 yen ($5.2) Thursday in Tokyo. Earnings were announced shortly after trading ended.

NEC is the latest Japanese electronics maker to report healthy earnings.

Sony Corp. shares jumped 9 percent in Thursday trading in Tokyo, a day after upbeat earnings that included a record fiscal year profit.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., which is changing its name to Panasonic next month, saw its fiscal year profit gain 30 percent on year on strong sales of cell phones, flat-panel TVs and DVD players. It reported its annual earnings at the end of April.