Japanese display maker Sharp said Thursday it is ramping up production of a screen technology rumored to be favored by Apple for its new devices, even as its yearly outlook plunged toward another large fiscal loss.
The Osaka-based company, one of the world's largest makers of LCD screens, said it will invest
Sharp says that the new displays cut power consumption by up to 90 percent and allow for far greater detail at the same transparency, keys for prolonging the battery life of portable devices, where screens are a major power drain. The company said it began mass production of IGZO screens in April.
The company is hoping such advanced technologies will eventually lead it back to profitability, but said Thursday things will get worse before they get better. Sharp now expects its loss for the fiscal year through March 2013 to be
Sharp said that for the April-June quarter, it booked a loss of
The company saw unit sales of its flat-screen TVs, which it markets under the Aquos brand, increase, but competition continued to drag down prices as well as its revenue and profit. It also saw an increased loss at its panel business, which sells to outside TV and electronics manufacturers.