Konica Minolta Holdings Inc. surged to a record in Tokyo trading after the world's second-biggest maker of film used in liquid-crystal displays raised its full-year profit forecast on demand for the material and printers.
Konica Minolta shares climbed 6.1 percent to 2,165 yen as of 10:41 a.m. on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the highest level since Konica Corp., which bought Minolta Co. in 2003, held its initial share sale in 1949. The stock was the biggest gainer on the Morgan Stanley Capital International Japan Index.
The Tokyo-based company yesterday joined Fujifilm Holdings Corp. in forecasting higher earnings, raising its full-year net income forecast by 39 percent to 66 billion yen ($576 million). Shares of Fujifilm, the largest LCD film maker, jumped the most in six years Oct. 31 after boosting its operating profit estimate.
``Display material sales, in terms of both sales volume and value, were good,'' Masahiro Nakanomyo, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co., wrote in a report today. ``Among printer makers, Konica Minolta has high growth rates.''
He kept a ``3'' recommendation on the stock, the middle of five investment ratings.
A weaker yen will also help boost earnings, said Konica Minolta, which gets about 74 percent of sales from overseas.
The company raised its operating profit forecast by 10 percent and sales estimate by 3.8 percent. ( Bloomberg )