Sanyo swings to profit in latest quarter By YURI KAGEYAMA, AP Business Writer

Sanyo swings to profit in latest quarter By YURI KAGEYAMA, AP Business Writer
2 hours, 59 minutes ago



TOKYO - Scandal-plagued Sanyo said Monday it swung back to a profit in the April-June quarter, reversing losses from a year ago as improved sales in digital cameras and rechargeable batteries helped offset a decline in mobile handsets and refrigerators.

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Sanyo Electric Co. posted a 2.57 billion yen ($21.7 million) net profit during the three months ended June 30. It had racked up a 9.67 billion yen loss the same period a year earlier.

Quarterly sales dipped 1.5 percent to 496.42 billion yen ($4.20 billion) from 504.12 billion yen.

Osaka-based Sanyo kept unchanged its forecasts for a return to profit for the full fiscal year ending March 2008 at 20 billion yen ($169 million) profit on 2.23 trillion yen ($18.9 billion) sales.

Sanyo has undergone a reshuffle at its top management after acknowledging earlier this year that it had falsified its fiscal 2003 earnings, in which it had reported a profit when it was in the red.

The accounting scandal surfaced as the Japanese electronics maker of digital cameras and batteries was undergoing a turnaround, reducing jobs and shutting unprofitable businesses under a revival plan.

Sanyo said proceeds from the sale of its leasing and credit service also helped its bottom line in the just ended quarter.

In May, the Japanese unit of General Electric Co. of the U.S. took over Sanyo Electric Credit Co. in a deal valued at 126.34 billion yen ($1.07 billion).

Embattled Sanyo received a bailout from Goldman Sachs and other investors last year, and put in new management. Sanyo President Toshimasa Iue, the grandson of the company's founder, stepped down earlier this week after the accounting scandal surfaced.

That resignation followed the departure of Chairwoman Tomoyo Nonaka, who resigned in March, citing personal reasons. She was appointed in 2005 and was charged with helping Sanyo revive its brand image and bolster earnings.

Sanyo is among the Japanese electronics makers that have had problems turning itself around after a battering in recent years by competition from cheaper Asian rivals. Its performance was also hurt by a 2004 earthquake near its chip-making plant.

Sanyo shares climbed 2.8 percent to 186 yen ($1.57). Earnings were announced shortly after trading ended.