Toshiba Corp. said profit will rise at its system LSI unit, maker of the processor powering Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3, as Japan's largest chipmaker produces more semiconductors for flat-screen televisions and digital cameras.
Operating profit margins at the unit will rise to 10 percent by as early as 2010, Masashi Muromachi, head of the Tokyo-based company's chip operations, said in a Sept. 12 interview. The unit accounts for 41 percent of Toshiba's chip sales.
Toshiba cut development costs of system LSI chips, which combine multiple computing functions on a single piece of silicon, to bring the business to break even last fiscal year. The company is counting on demand for flat-panel TVs, game consoles and digital cameras to improve earnings at the unit and narrow the gap with Texas Instruments Inc.'s 21 percent margin last year.