Hitachi Ltd. said Friday its operating profit for the October to December quarter rose 14 percent to 39.14 billion yen, as strong plant and equipment, and social infrastructure investments by customers domestically and overseas boosted its industrial business.
For the quarter, revenue was up 6 percent to 2.26 trillion yen, but net profit fell by 80 percent to 5.5 billion yen due to the absence of one-time gains booked a year earlier from the sale of a subsidiary.
During the reporting period, the firm saw solid growth in its power and industrial systems unit, driven by strong sales of construction machinery and factory equipment.
Hitachi's hard disk drive business continued to suffer losses. The company said it has to wait until the latter half of fiscal 2006 to turn the business around by improving efficiency and introducing new products.
Its flat-screen TV business also remained under water for the period. While the firm said its plasma display panel TVs had achieved a domestic market share of over 30 percent in December, it has racked up huge marketing expenses.