TOKYO: The head of Japan's Sharp Corp. vowed on Friday to restore profitability at the "reborn" electronics giant, just days after it announced sweeping pay cuts to repair a bleeding balance sheet.
Sharp President Takashi Okuda said the Osaka-based firm would book a net profit in the fiscal year starting in April 2013, a marked reversal of the whopping 250 billion yen ($3.2 billion) loss it expects this year.
"Our top priority is to work together to overcome the current difficulties," he said in a statement ahead of the firm's 100th anniversary at the weekend.
"I would like to use this occasion to vow the rebirth of a new Sharp. We will make structural reforms at any cost as we aim to achieve operating profit in the second-half of the fiscal 2012 and net profit in the fiscal 2013."
On Tuesday, the maker of Aquos brand televisions said it would save about 14 billion yen by temporarily slashing salaries for thousands of employees, from the factory floor to the executive boardroom.
The cuts, affecting employees in Japan, would be in place until September next year, said Sharp. Bonuses for some 27,500 employees in Japan would be halved.
The cuts underscored an increasingly dire situation for the firm after its share price plunged to four-decade lows last month when it reported a quarterly loss of about $1.76 billion.
Standard & Poor's cut its credit rating on Sharp to junk status after the earnings report and sharp price drop.
The company has seen its mainstay television, liquid crystal display and solar panel products struggle as it faced a strong yen, falling prices, heavy labour costs and fierce competition from foreign rivals.
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