Japanese electronics maker Hitachi Ltd. said Tuesday its net profit for the three months through December surged nearly tenfold as its power plant, hardware and telecommunications businesses recovered. Net profit rose to 12.5 billion yen (US$116.9 million; ¤78.8 million) during the October-December quarter from 1.26 billion yen in the same period the previous year. Group sales rose nearly 10 percent to 2.71 trillion yen (US$25.35 billion; ¤17.09 billion), from 2.49 trillion yen a year ago, the company said. Operating profit rose 27 percent to 77.9 billion yen (US$728.7 million; ¤491.4 million) from 61.56 billion yen, the Associated Press reported.
