Sanyo Electric Co said sales of televisions, digital cameras and other devices surpassed its goal in the April to June period, aided partly by the World Cup soccer tournament and the introduction of new products.
The world's No. 1 digital camera maker will probably meet its fiscal first-half forecast of 13 billion yen (US$111 million) in operating profit and sales of 396 billion yen at its audio-visual and cell-phone business because of the better performance, Eiji Kotobuki, president of the unit, said in an interview.
Japan's consumer-electronics makers, including companies such as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, have credited the World Cup for fueling demand for large-screen televisions and other appliances. Japan's largest chipmakers such as NEC Corp, Toshiba Corp and Fujitsu Ltd also benefit because their chips and components are used in those devices.
"It's not surprising to see good audio-visual sales in the first quarter because of the World Cup," said Katsuaki Furutachi, who helps manage about 150 billion yen in Japanese equities at Asahi Life Asset Management Co. "I'm not so optimistic for the latter half of the year."
TVs, handsets and other products like the iDshot digital camera account for about 40 percent of Sanyo's overall sales.
Sanyo makes a third of the world's digital cameras and is the third-biggest mobile-phone maker in Japan.
"We've completely exceeded our plans," Kotobuki said, citing higher-than-expected sales of liquid-crystal display projectors, televisions and digital cameras. He declined to provide sales figures for the three months ended June 30.
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