Sales of flat-screen TVs proved pivotal to the fortunes of major consumer electronics makers Sony Corp., Hitachi Ltd. and Mitsubishi Electric Corp. in 2005, according to their annual reports released Thursday.
Strong sales of flat-screen TVs and liquid crystal displays pushed up earnings and profits at Sony and Mitsubishi Electric in the business year to March 31, but Hitachi lagged, suffering a 35.7 billion yen operating loss in the digital media and home appliance sector, which includes flat-panel TVs.
Sony's worldwide share in LCD TVs surged from 9 percent to 15 percent in the fourth quarter of 2005, making it the LCD TV leader in terms of units sold and revenues, according to a survey by DisplaySearch, a unit of market research firm NPD group.