NEC cuts net loss on rebound in semiconductors

NEC Corp. reported Wednesday a smaller group net loss for the April-September period than a year earlier, backed by a pickup in the semiconductor business and cost-saving efforts.

NEC had a group net loss of ¥4.75 billion for the first half of business 2007, compared with a loss of ¥9.93 billion a year before, the major electronics company said.

In the April-September period, NEC's consolidated operating profit swelled to ¥27.44 billion, against ¥7.50 billion a year earlier, on sales of ¥2.14 trillion, down 3.6 percent.

The company said a recovery in the business of its semiconductor unit, NEC Electronics Corp., contributed greatly to the reduction in the net loss.

NEC left unchanged its full-year earnings projections, citing uncertainty about foreign-exchange rates and business conditions in Japan and elsewhere in the second half.

The company is projecting a group net profit of ¥30 billion and an operating profit of ¥130 billion on sales of ¥4.7 trillion in the year through March 31.