Fujitsu lauds profitability in Q2 results

Tough economic conditions and fluctuating yen take their toll on Japanese vendor

Profitability is key: Fujitsu's three main business strands have all increase profitability in Q2

Fujitsu has hailed its profit increase despite a fluctuating exchange rate and tough trading conditions affecting its second quarter 2010 results.

The vendor saw Q2 sales reach 1,100bn yen ($13,096m) a drop of 3.7 per cent compared to Q2 2009. However, net profit dropped to 17.4bn yen ($207m) compared with 72.4bn yen in the same period last year.

Fujitsu reported that all three of the company’s main business segments – Technology Solutions, Ubiquitous Solutions and Device Solutions – posted increases in profitability in Q2, compared with the previous year.

The Technology Solutions division posted an increase in profit primarily as a result of higher sales of system integration services and lower pension-related expenses in Japan, according to Fujitsu.

Profit from the Ubiquitous Solutions segment, which includes PCs, mobile phones and car audio and navigation equipment, improved on higher sales of PCs and car audio and navigation systems in Japan and improved efficiencies in the PC business.

Profit from the Device Solutions business, comprising LSI devices and electronic components, rebounded strongly to a quarterly profit compared to the previous year as a result of strong sales growth and business reforms, the vendor claimed.

Sales in Japan increased by 3.3 per cent, while sales outside Japan fell 14.5 per cent due largely to the yen’s appreciation and the sale of Fujitsu’s hard-disk drive business the previous year. During Q2, the yen continued to appreciate against other currencies, which reduced net sales by approximately 50bn yen compared with 2009.

Masami Yamamoto, president of Fujitsu, said: “I’m pleased to report that our profitability continued to improve, and we were able to beat our operating profit target for the first half of the year.

“Our improved profitability means that we can continue to make important strategic investments in global expansion and in new cloud computing services that will contribute to the success of our customers.”