Sanyo Electric Co said on Friday it has started buying liquid crystal display (LCD) panels from Sharp Corp for use in its flat TVs sold in North America.
Sanyo has bet its future on rechargeable batteries and
solar cells, and is intensifying investment in these
businesses amid a lackluster performance by its consumer
electronics operation.
Sanyo said it started procuring LCDs from Sharp in
April, and would also continue procurement from other
suppliers.
Sanyo sold about a million LCD TVs in North America in
the business year that ended on March 31.
Sharp, the world's third-largest LCD TV maker behind
Samsung Electronics Co and Sony, has been trying to
secure a stable source of demand for its LCD panels from
rival TV set makers as it aggressively invests in
expanding output.
It is planning to spend 380 billion yen ($3.65 billion)
to build a new LCD plant in Japan, scheduled to start
production by March 2010.
Sony, Toshiba and Pioneer have said they
plan to buy LCD panels from Sharp.
Sanyo announced on Thursday that it had returned to the
black for the first time in four years, helped by robust
sales of rechargeable batteries and digital cameras, and
said profit would jump this year on the sale of its
cellphone unit.