Sharp faces $282 million operating loss for April-June: Nikkei

TOKYO - Japan's Sharp Corp is set to swing to an operating loss in the April-June quarter, the Nikkei business daily reported on Friday, reflecting a sharp downturn in its smartphone display business which forced it to seek a bailout from banks in May. The electronics company is expected to report an operating loss of about 35 billion yen ($282 million) for the quarter, compared with a profit of 4.6 billion yen a year earlier, the newspaper said. (s.nikkei.com/1f8Sxu3) Quarterly sales were expected to fall by 3.2 percent to 600 billion yen. Sharp officials weren't immediately available to comment. The figures were both slightly weaker than markets were expecting, and shares in Sharp fell 3 percent in morning trade. Analysts on average forecast an operating loss of 21 billion yen on sales of 612 billion, according to Thomson Reuters Estimates. Sharp has struggled to cope with falling prices for liquid crystal displays sold to smartphone makers. In May, it secured a $1.9 billion bailout after falling deep into the red. Sharp's earnings for the July-September period would have to improve "significantly" for the company to reach its targeted operating profit of 10 billion yen for the April-September half, the report said. -Reuters