Thanks to a comeback in orders for hard-disk-drive glass substrates and LCD panel materials, Hoya Corp. reported JPY 7-9 billion group operating profit in the quarter for April-June 2009.
While this …
Thanks to a comeback in orders for hard-disk-drive glass substrates and LCD panel materials, Hoya Corp. reported JPY 7-9 billion group operating profit in the quarter for April-June 2009. While this profit decreased about 60% from the same quarter in 2008, it marked a turnaround from the January-March operating loss – the first time in the red since the company started to release quarterly earnings reports in fiscal 1998. Sales have declined about 30% on the year to about JPY 90 billion in the quarter, an increase on the JPY 82.9 billion of the first three months of 2009. Demand dropped for mask blanks for semiconductors, as well as for medical and health care products, such as lenses for endoscopy and eyeglasses. However, LCD panel manufacturers have begun boosting output due to the recovery of sales of flat-panel televisions in China and elsewhere, resulting in increased orders for LCD masks. Moreover, demand for hard-drive glass substrates also increased as customers reduced inventories. Hoya carried out reductions in its workforce reduction and other major restructuring measures in the second half of fiscal 2008, withdrawing from unprofitable businesses and moving digital camera production overseas. These steps will result in a fixed-cost reduction of JPY 10-13 billion for all of fiscal 2009. On a quarterly basis, this profit-boosting effect will be about JPY 3 billion. Hoya has not disclosed forecasts for the first half or the full year ending March 2010.