Japan glass maker Hoya´s Q2 op profit up 7 pct

Japanese optical glass maker Hoya Corp. said on Thursday its operating profit rose 7.3 percent in the latest quarter on robust sales of glass used to make liquid crystal displays (LCDs) and in hard drives. Hoya´s earnings have been propelled by strong sales of LCD photomasks, which are precision glass plates used in etching circuitry onto LCD panels, and glass disks for the hard drives that store data in notebook PCs. The company, which is more than half-owned by foreign investors, said group operating profit came to 24.74 billion yen ($214.2 million) in the July-September second quarter, up from 23.05 billion yen a year earlier. The profit result was below the consensus forecast of 25.77 billion yen from seven analysts polled by Reuters Estimates. Hoya itself had estimated a quarterly operating profit of 23.95 billion yen. Hoya has also benefited from a recovery in sales of eyeglass lenses in Japan and overseas. Hoya is one of the world´s top makers of such lenses, competing with the likes of France´s Essilor International and Germany´s Carl Zeiss AG. Reflecting its strong earnings, Hoya shares rose 18 percent in the July-September quarter, outperforming Japan´s precision machinery index , which gained about 14 percent. ($1=115.51 Yen)