Nippon Sheet Glass Shares Gain After Rating, Forecast Raised

Nippon Sheet Glass Co., Asia´s second-largest glassmaker, climbed the most in two months in Tokyo trading after the company raised its net income forecast and Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Co. boosted its rating on the stock.

The shares rose 6.6 percent to 483 yen as of 10:02 a.m. on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the biggest gain since June 4. The stock had the third largest gain on the MSCI World Index.

Mitsubishi UFJ analyst Hiroyuki Okaseri said he had a "positive impression" because the company´s operating profit declined less than he expected after sales of glass used in solar cells and price increases for builder´s glass in the U.S. and Europe offset higher material and fuel costs.

Okaseri raised his rating on the stock to "market perform" from "underperform" and raised his operating profit estimate to 35 billion yen ($318 million) for the year ending March 31, 2009, from 30 billion yen previously.

The Tokyo-based company yesterday after markets closed raised its full-year net income forecast by 38 percent to 27.5 billion yen, citing an unspecified one-off gain. The company maintained its sales and operating profit outlooks.