TOKYO -- NEC is expected to see its group operating profit remain roughly unchanged on the year at about 4 billion yen ($35.5 million) in the April-September half, with growing sales at a new subsidiary and a strong performance of its mainstay system development business making up for heavy investment in the information technology sector.
The Tokyo-based company has not published an official forecast for the first half. It probably will fall short of the average outlook of over 10 billion yen given by analysts in a QUICK Consensus survey, as it spends heavily on developing artificial intelligence and the "internet of things."