Japan's Fujitsu sees post-quake profit growth

Japan's Fujitsu on Friday forecast net profit to rise 8.9 percent this year, expecting demand for IT products and services to recover after the March earthquake and tsunami.

Fujitsu, which provides information technology services and also makes computers and cellphones, predicted a net profit of 60 billion yen ($745 million) in the business year to March 2012.

It also forecast operating profit to rise 1.8 percent to 135 billion yen on sales of 4.6 trillion yen, up 1.6 percent.

Fujitsu in April reported its net profit for the year ended in March fell 41 percent to 55 billion yen citing the quake's negative impact as well as weak spending on information technology.

The disaster forced Fujitsu to temporarily suspend several factories in affected regions in March, but all of them have since resumed operations at full output capacity.

Fujitsu expects to break even in the April-September first half of the current fiscal year but projected business would pick up in the second half.

"Thanks to growing sales, primarily in the services business outside of Japan, as well as a recovery demand-driven rebound in domestic ICT (information and communication technology) investments in the second half of the fiscal year, Fujitsu projects increased sales and income for the full year," it said in a statement.

(c) 2011 AFP