Operating profit at Japan's Sharp Corp jumped 52 per cent in the year ended in March, helped by government subsidies for energy-efficient appliances.

However, the company did not issue a forecast for the current financial year.

The maker of Aquos LCD TVs benefited from increased sales in Japan for a wide-range of energy-efficient consumer electronics thanks to a government incentive programme that ended in March.

Sharp, which competes with South Korea's Samsung Electronics and LG Display in liquid crystal display panels, said operating profit was 78.90 billion yen (€6.6 million) for the year ended in March, up from 51.90 a year earlier.

That compares with an average estimate of 82 billion yen in a poll of 22 analysts.

For the current financial year through March 2012, the company forecast did not give an operating profit forecast. The average estimate from analysts is for a 69 billion yen profit.

Shares of Sharp have lost about 10 per cent so far this year, underperforming a 5 percent fall in the benchmark Nikkei average.

Reuters