Toshiba says 3Q profit rose 11 percent

Japanese electronics maker Toshiba said Tuesday an 11 percent rise in profit for the October-December quarter came mainly from gains on the sale of a building in Tokyo's ritzy downtown Ginza district.

The sale of Ginza Toshiba Building helped to offset poor cash flow from operating activities, it said. In late September, the company said it was selling the property for 161 billion yen, or $1.4 billion at that time, to concentrate on its core electronics businesses.

Net profit in the fiscal third quarter rose to 80.5 billion yen ($755 million) from 72.4 billion yen a year earlier, Tokyo-based Toshiba Corp. said in a statement.

Sales rose 5 percent to 1.88 trillion yen ($17.6 billion) from 1.79 trillion yen in the same period a year ago, it said.

Toshiba makes a variety of electronics products, from personal computers to refrigerators. Like other Japanese electronics manufacturers, it took a battering in recent years from rivals that make less expensive goods, but it has been reshaping its operations.

Sales of social infrastructure products such as elevators and power systems rose during the quarter, the manufacturer said.

Personal computers, televisions and home appliances also sold well, it said. But while semiconductor sales grew slightly, liquid crystal display business revenues fell.

For the nine months from April to December, group net profit rose 13 percent to 126.2 billion yen ($1.18 billion) from 111.3 billion yen the previous year. Sales climbed 12 percent to 5.57 trillion yen ($52.2 billion) from 4.96 trillion yen.

Looking ahead, Toshiba said the outlook for the fourth quarter remains uncertain, citing worries about rising oil prices and the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis. The American economy is a major market for Japanese electronics companies, and they are worried any economic slowdown there will hurt consumer demand.

Toshiba left unchanged its profit projection for the fiscal year at 180 billion yen ($1.69 billion) on sales of 7.8 trillion yen ($73.2 billion).

Toshiba announced earnings after the close of trade on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Its shares rose 2.39 percent Tuesday to 726 yen ($6.81).