Japan's Toshiba almost trebles first-half earnings forecast

TOKYO: Japanese electronics giant Toshiba on Thursday almost trebled its profit projections for the first half, thanks to strong sales of semiconductors and liquid crystal displays.

For the six months to September, Toshiba upgraded its net profit expectation to 27 billion yen (333 million dollars) from an earlier estimate of 10 billion yen.

Its operating profit is estimated at 104 billion yen, up from an earlier estimate of 70 billion.

Toshiba, which produces everything from light bulbs to nuclear power plants, said its semiconductor business, led by NAND flash memory products, enjoyed significant successes during the period, boosting the profit figures.

Its LCD operation also returned to the black, adding to the earnings, Toshiba said.

However, it cuts its sales forecast to 3.08 trillion yen from an earlier projection of 3.30 trillion yen, due to the appreciation of the yen and the discontinuation of its mobile phone business.

Toshiba will announce its first half earnings on November 9.