Sharp Corp. said Tuesday its net profit for fiscal 2004 jumped 27 percent to a record 76.85 billion yen, driven by brisk sales of liquid crystal display TVs and mobile phones.
The Osaka-based electronics maker said it expects to set a new earnings record in the current fiscal year on the continued popularity of these products.
For the year ended in March, sales rose 13 percent to 2.54 trillion yen. Sales of LCD TVs soared 1.8 times both in value and volume, with 2.72 million units sold for 308.7 billion yen.
The average price of LCD TVs fell about 30 percent during the reporting year, but Sharp's prices dropped only 3 percent because it sold many large models, company officials said.
Sharp said it will put more emphasis on large sets this fiscal year by increasing the ratio of 30-inch or larger models to about 30 percent, from 22 percent in fiscal 2004.
The company, which supplies about half of its LCD panels to rivals, including Sony Corp., said it expects demand for large panels to increase this year.
The company's strong results were also buoyed by cell phone handsets. Sharp said strong sales were largely propelled by a shift to third-generation models, which are pricier than their predecessors.