Hitachi logs third quarter profit on cost cuts, lifts outlook

Hitachi Ltd, Japan's biggest electronics maker, reported a surprise quarterly net profit after it cut costs in its TVs and microchips, and it raised its forecast closer to market consensus.                                           

It also said that its executive vice president Hiroaki Nakanishi would replace its current president Takashi Kawamura as president.                                           

Hitachi reported a net profit of 21.9 billion yen ($241 million) in its fiscal third quarter, up from last year's loss of 371.1 billion yen and blowing past the average estimate of a 22.8 billion yen loss by analysts at JP Morgan and Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.                                           

Hitachi, General Electric's partner in nuclear power, lifted its outlook to a net loss of 210 billion yen, from a previous forecast of a loss of 230 billion yen for the year to March.                                           

The guidance still misses the consensus average for a 205 billion yen loss by 13 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters IBES.                                           

Hitachi, which was forced to raise funds to shore up its depleted capital in December, is looking to trim units whose losses are eroding profits made in metals, cables and construction machinery and hopes to shift focus to its batteries, power systems and infrastructure businesses.                                           

Shares in Hitachi shed 3% in October-December, in line with Tokyo's index of electrical machinery. Its shares have risen close to 9% since the start of the calendar year, while the index stayed flat.