Tokyo — Higher sales of plasma TVs, optical disk drives and LCD projectors helped move up sales 4 percent at the digital media and consumer products segment at Hitachi, hitting $12.1 billion for the 12 months, up from a year-on-year $11.59 billion.
Operating income for the digital media and consumer products segment, mainly consumer electronics, jumped 15 percent in the fiscal 12 months, reaching $82.1 million, compared with $65.7 million the previous year. The increase was due to higher earnings from plasma TVs, optical disk drives, LCD projectors and other products.
Revenue in North America rose 3 percent for the year at Hitachi, coming in at $8.5 billion, compared with $8.3 billion the previous year. Operating income for the company’s North American business more than doubled, to $96.3 million, for the period ended March 31, from $44.7 million.
Supported by growth in the United States, despite rapidly rising oil prices, consolidated sales and income took a healthy climb at Hitachi during the past 12 months. With consumer spending on the rise and exports to the United States increasing, Hitachi consolidated sales increased 5 percent to $85.3 billion, up from a year-on-year $81.6 billion,
Consolidated operating income for the 12 months rose 51 percent to $2.6 billion from $1.8 billion, while net income in the period more than tripled, hitting $486.5 million, from $150 million the prior year.
Hitachi did not report fiscal fourth-quarter financial figures.
