NEC doubles earnings for the year

NEC'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, an Associated Press report said.

NEC, which did not provide numbers for the quarter, reported a 22.68 billion yen (€138 million, US$216 million) profit for the fiscal year ended March 31, a dramatic rise from 9.13 billion yen profit the previous year, the report said.

Fiscal year sales inched down 0.8% to 4.617 trillion yen (€28.2 billion, US$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% to 35 billion yen (€213 million, US$333.3 million).

NEC is the latest Japanese electronics maker to report healthy earnings, the Associated Press report further said.