Smaller Japanese electronics makers Sharp, Pioneer and Kyocera said camera-equipped mobile phones and DVD recorders powered their earnings, but rival Sanyo plunged into the red due to losses on stockholdings.

Toshiba Corp.'s net profit came to 18.5 billion yen (154.2 million dollars) last financial year against a loss of 254.0 billion yen a year earlier.

Pre-tax profit reached 53.1 billion yen, reversing a 376.7 billion yen loss previously, while revenue grew 4.9 percent to 5.66 trillion yen.

"Increased sales of digital devices for consumers, and economic growth in the Asian region helped increase sales of semiconductors and electronic devices," said company vice president Kiyoaki Shimagami.

"Profit-wise, the effect of restructuring and the growth of the semiconductor business helped significantly," he told a news conference.

Rival Fujitsu Ltd. said its net loss shrank by two-thirds in the year to March and announced its president would step down, reportedly to take responsibility for two straight years in the red.

The net loss at Japan's largest computer maker shrank to 122.1 billion yen from a 382.5 billion yen loss last year, while recurring profit recovered to 12.4 billion yen, compared with a year-before loss of 157.1 billion yen.

But revenue fell 7.8 percent to 4.62 trillion yen as restructuring costs and a one-off charge related to faulty magnetic disks ate into the bottom line.

Fujitsu vice president Takashi Takaya suggested the company's restructuring phase was over.

"Now I believe we have a corporate structure that can deal with the current slow economy and deflation," Takaya told reporters.

Toshiba and Fujitsu forecast improved earnings this year to March 2004 despite concern about the US and Japanese economies and the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

"We... can expect some recovery in overall demand emerging in the second half (to March 2004)," Takaya told reporters.

"But the collapse of the telecom infrastructure market, for instance, will continue in the United States," he said.

Fujitsu projected a return to the black with a 30 billion yen net profit in the current year.

Toshiba said it expected net profit to more than double to 40 billion yen as demand for chips used in cellphones was expected to grow.

The popularity of mobile phones helped nearly triple net profit at Sharp Corp. in the year to March just ended to 32.6 billion yen, and the firm hoped to reap the benefits of its mobile technology in the coming months.

"We will aggressively release cellphones with advanced technology in Japan, while focussing on expanding sales of digital camera-equipped handsets in Europe," said senior managing director Hiroshi Saji.

Kyocera Corp. the world's largest manufacturer of integrated circuit ceramic packages, also benefited from strong sales of camera-mounted mobile handsets, with net profit surging 28.8 percent in the year to 41.2 billion yen.

Electronics maker Pioneer enjoyed a good year as well, as record sales of audio and visual equipment, including home-use DVD recorders, helped double net profit to 16.1 billion yen.

All three firms forecast even better earnings in the year to March 2004.

In contrast, Sanyo Electric Co. Ltd. suffered a net loss of 72.8 billion yen, reversing a profit of 1.7 billion yen a year earlier after incurring massive losses on its stockholdings.

However, the firm also aimed to improve its performance in the current term, pledging a return to profitability.

SPACE.WIRE