Sharp CE Biz Jumps 13.8% In Fiscal Q3

By Jeff Malester On Feb 13 2006 - 8:00am

Growing sales of LCD televisions, mainly large-size models, as well as increasing revenue from mobile phones, lifted fiscal third quarter sales in the audio-visual and communication equipment business — namely consumer electronics — at Sharp by 13.8 percent, hitting $2.7 billion, up from $2.4 billion in the year-ago quarter.

Sales in Sharp's consumer/information products business, which includes consumer electronics, major appliances and information equipment, rose 10.5 percent in the third quarter, ended Dec. 31, reaching $4 billion, compared with a year-earlier $3.7 billion.

Third-quarter sales of LCDs moved up 17.9 percent to $1.3 billion, from $1.1 billion year-on-year due to the growth of large sizes.

Sharp's third-quarter sales for its electronic components business, which includes LCDs, jumped 16.3 percent to $2.2 billion, from $1.9 billion in the same three months in 2004.

Operating income in the third quarter for audio/visual and communications equipment reached $99.9 million, a 15.2 percent increase over the $86.8 million recorded in the third quarter the prior year.

Consumer/information products operating income moved ahead 14.2 percent in the third quarter, coming in at $156.5 million, up from a year-earlier $137.1 million.

LCD business operating income in the third quarter reached $145 million, a 39.5 percent rise over the $103.9 million recorded in the same three months the previous year.

Electronic components business moved up 24.1 percent in the quarter, to $214 million, compared to a year-on-year $172.4 million.