Asahi Glass Co. said Tuesday it has raised its group earnings forecast for the nine months to Dec. 31 due to the recovery in its glass business in Europe toward the end of 2003.
Robust performance in the electronics and display business and continued firmness in the chemical business also contributed to solid earnings, the glass maker said.
In its revised consolidated earnings forecast, Asahi Glass said it expects a net profit of 49 billion yen for the April-December period, compared with a profit of 46 billion yen estimated last November.
The estimates for pretax profit and sales were also revised up to 74 billion yen and 1,245 billion yen, respectively, from 69 billion yen and 1,220 billion yen.
In the previous business year ended in March 2003, the company logged a net loss of 3.92 billion yen and a pretax profit of 56.76 billion yen on sales of 1,295.01 billion yen.