Hitachi Beats First-Quarter Profit Estimates, Raises First-Half Forecast

Hitachi Ltd., Japan’s No.3 company by sales, posted a third consecutive quarterly profit as China’s economic growth and the recovery in the U.S. fueled demand for products ranging from auto components to hydraulic excavators.

Net income at the Tokyo-based maker of nuclear power plants, construction machinery, factory equipment and home appliances was 86.1 billion yen ($996 million) in the three months ended June 30, compared with an 82.7 billion yen loss a year earlier, the company said today in a statement. That’s almost four times the 23 billion yen profit average of three analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Higher capital spending by electronics makers and semiconductor manufacturers contributed to a 23 percent increase in sales at the electronics devices division, Hitachi said. Revenue at the automotive systems division rose 38 percent, it said.

First-quarter operating profit was 88.5 billion yen, compared with a loss of 50.6 billion yen a year earlier, the company said. Sales rose 14 percent to 2.15 trillion yen.

Hitachi fell 2 percent to close at 352 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange before the announcement. Shares of the company have gained 24 percent this year, outperforming the benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average which declined 9.6 percent.

The company raised its first-half net income forecast by 82 percent to 100 billion yen and increased its operating profit estimate by 36 percent. Hitachi expects sales in the period to total 4.4 trillion yen, 2.3 percent more than its May projection.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jason Clenfield in Tokyo at jclenfield@bloomberg.net; Mikako Nakajima in Tokyo at mikako@bloomberg.net

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