NIPPON ELECTRIC GLASS RAISES PROFIT ESTIMATE FOR APRIL-JUNE QTR

TOKYO, Jun 26, 2009 (AsiaPulse via COMTEX) -- NPEGF | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Nippon Electric Glass Co. (TSE:5214) on Thursday said it expects a 7 billion yen (US$73 million) group pretax profit for the April-June quarter, down 79 per cent from the same period a year earlier but above the projections the company announced in late April.
Revenue is seen falling 40 per cent to 63 billion yen, up from an earlier forecast of 50-60 billion yen, with operating profit now expected to drop 71 per cent to 10 billion yen, compared with initial estimates calling for no more than 5 billion yen.

The glass manufacturer said it has seen a production increase at panel manufacturers in South Korea and Taiwan thanks to the Chinese government's massive economic stimulus package. As a result, sales of LCD substrate glass have rebounded.

In terms of volume, LCD substrate glass sales are expected to drop more than 10 per cent on the year but still be more than 10 per cent higher than the January-March tally, and with only moderate price declines. Sales of glass fibers used to reinforce plastic grew as automakers eased up on production cuts.