S&P: Hitachi view to positive

S&P said it revised the outlook to positive from stable on Hitachi Ltd.

The agency also said it affirmed the A- long-term and A-2 short-term corporate credit ratings, along with the long- and short-term issue ratings.

S&P also said it affirmed all of the ratings on the company's three overseas subsidiaries and also revised their outlooks to positive from stable.

The outlook revisions reflect a view that Hitachi's profitability has improved in the past three years, benefiting from a reshuffle of the company's business portfolio and an enhanced cost structure, the agency said.

S&P also said it expects profitability to stage a further moderate improvement in the next one to two years, thanks to solid operating performance in its core businesses.

Technological competitiveness and a solid customer base enable Hitachi to bundle hardware and software services, which will also help its profitability, the agency said.

In reshuffling its business portfolio in recent years, Hitachi scaled back operations that were unprofitable or had highly volatile earnings while concentrating business resources on competitive social innovation business, a promising growth field, S&P added.

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