Hitachi Cable Targets 67% Higher Profit for F2008

Hitachi Cable announced on Thursday the firm will increase the consolidate recurring profit to 20 billion yen with 445 billion yen of sales for fiscal 2008 ending March 2009 from estimated 12 billion yen of the profit with 418 billion yen of sales for fiscal 2005 under the new 3-year plan starting April 2006. The firm tries to increase the return on equity to 6% for fiscal 2008 from estimated 3% for fiscal 2005. The firm accelerates to expand the output and development of new products for high-value products focusing on the strategic areas including electronics, wireless-, broadcasting- and communication-network and automobile. The firm also tries to increase the offshore sales to 33% of total sales for fiscal 2008 from estimated 27% for fiscal 2005 by improving the marketing through area headquarters in Europe, USA, China and Southeast Asia. The firm targets 8.5 billion yen of recurring profit with 186 billion yen of sales for wires and cables unit, 4.5 billion yen of the profit with 88 billion yen of sales for information and telecommunication network unit and 7 billion yen of the profit with 168 billion yen of sales for sophisticated materials unit for fiscal 2008. The firm expects the growing unit of sophisticated materials will increase the recurring profit by 3 billion yen with 20.5 billion higher sales for fiscal 2008 compared with estimate for fiscal 2005. The firm tries to expand the sales and to launch new products for electronics industry focusing on tape automated bonding, high-strength copper alloy strip and gallium-arsenide compound semiconductors. The firm will increase the sales of power source harnesses for electric vehicles, automotive sensors and rolling copper foil for automobile industry through automotive business development center, which started the operation in July 2005. The wires and cables unit increases the recurring profit by 3.5 billion yen for fiscal 2008 from estimate for fiscal 2005 by synergy from integration of products items and production and sales sites and by better cooperation with offshore group companies. The information and telecommunication network unit tries to expand the sales for business use products including Ethernet switches and wireless internet protocol telephone. The firm plans to expend 67 billion yen and secures 38.5 billion yen for research and development for the 3 years to fiscal 2008. The firm allocates the resources into the 3 strategic areas.