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Japan Hot Stocks-Kajima, Calsonic Kansei, Konami, Trans Cosmos

Reuters - Friday, May 16

NEC also said it expects a net profit of 35 billion yen ($333 million) - TOKYO, May 16 - The benchmark Nikkei average was flat as of 0503 GMT on Friday.

The following stocks were on the move: **KAJIMA JUMPS ON STRONG PROFIT OUTLOOK**

Kajima Corp jumped 9.8 percent to 403 yen, becoming the biggest percentage gainer on the Nikkei average, after the construction firm forecast an 86.4 percent rise in its operating profit of 34 billion yen for the year ending in March 2009 by improving project profitability, beating a mean forecast of 27.4 billion yen in a poll of seven analysts by Reuters Estimates. 0503 GMT **CALSONIC KANSEI PLUNGES, NOMURA DOWNGRADES**

Calsonic Kansei Corp plunged 12 percent to 427 yen after Nomura Securities cut its rating to "neutral" from "buy", citing weak prospects for a recovery in North American earnings due to expected production cutbacks by Nissan Motor Co Ltd at its facilities in Mexico.

The auto parts maker forecast an 8.5 percent decline in its operating profit for the year ending in March 2009, hit by sharp rises in raw materials costs.

For the year just ended, its operating profit rose 15.9 percent to 14.2 billion yen, thanks to sales growth in China, Thailand and other emerging markets. 0431 GMT **KONAMI JUMPS ON SOLID PROFIT OUTLOOK**

Konami Corp jumped 6.2 percent to 3,970 yen, the top contributor to the Nikkei share average's rise.

The video game software maker soared after it forecast a 33 percent increase in operating profit for the year ending in March 2009, buoyed by the global release of its "Metal Gear Solid 4", a Sony PlayStation 3 game title and the lastest addition to the popular action game series.

For the year just ended, the firm said operating profit rose 20.2 percent to 33.8 billion yen, driven by solid sales of its video sports game titles at home and overseas. 0405 GMT **TRANS COSMOS TUMBLES ON FORECAST, BROKER DOWNGRADE**

Shares of Trans Cosmos Inc fell 16.1 percent to 1,039 yen after the company, which operates call centres and provides business and IT consulting services, forecast its profit would fall this year due to a downturn at its venture capital arm.

Trans Cosmos said after the close on Thursday that it expected its group operating profit to fall 38 percent to 2.7 billion yen in the year to March 2009 even as it projected sales to rise 10 percent to 180.7 billion yen. [ID:nT15IWIFVT]

A spokesman for the company said its operating profit would be dragged down by a likely drop in profits at its venture capital business, which could struggle to make exits from investments due to sluggish market and economic conditions.

Mitsubishi UFJ Securities cut its rating on Trans Cosmos to "3" from "1", calling the forecast a negative surprise. 0200 GMT **ULVAC LIMIT DOWN ON PROFIT WARNING**

Ulvac Inc was hit by sell orders and was limit down, with orders indicated at 3,840 yen, a decline of 11.5 percent, after the maker of display making equipment cut its outlook by 60 percent.

It now sees an operating profit of 7.2 billion yen for the year to June 30, down from its previous forecast of 17.9 billion yen.

Ulvac, which eyes solid orders for panel making equipment, has been hit by delays in sales of its semiconductor making equipment and pumps, it said. 0126 GMT **NEC SLIDES AFTER GOLDMAN CUTS RATING TO 'NEUTRAL'**

NEC Corp, Japan's biggest maker of telecoms network equipment, fell 4.5 percent to 526 yen after Goldman Sachs cut its rating to "neutral" from "buy" following its earnings results and outlook for the current business year.

Goldman analyst Ikuo Matsuhashi said in a report that he had cut his rating because shares have risen sharply as attention focuses on NEC's ability to generate cash flow, and because market focus is shifting from its accounting troubles to earnings momentum which is not that strong.

NEC also said it expects a net profit of 35 billion yen ($333 million) in the year that began in April, up 54 percent from the previous year, due to further cost cuts and investment by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp in high-speed networks.

That outlook missed a consensus forecast for a net profit of 56.6 billion yen by eight analysts polled by Reuters. [ID:nT299809]. 0126 GMT **MITSUMI ELECTRIC TUMBLES ON GRIM FORECAST**

Mitsumi Electric Co Ltd, a comprehensive electric parts manufacturer, tumbled 11 percent to 3,260 yen after it forecast a 33 percent profit fall on Thursday for the year to March 2009 due to rising energy and raw materials costs and an unclear outlook for the U.S. economy. 0117 GMT **NINTENDO CLIMBS ON WII SALES DATA**

Nintendo Co Ltd rose 1.9 percent to 60,100 yen after data from market research firm NPD showed that its Wii remained the best-selling game console, selling 714,000 units in the United States in April, far more than Microsoft Corp's Xbox 360 and Sony Corp's PlayStation 3 combined. [ID:nN15362612] 0051 GMT **KOJIMA CO LTD SLIDES ON GLOOMY FORECAST**

Electronic goods retailer Kojima slid 3.4 percent to 539 yen after saying on Thursday it likely posted a net loss of 2.3 billion yen for the year ended in March, a fall from its previous forecast of a net profit of 1.2 billion yen, hit by weak store sales and writedowns of its assets. 0039 GMT **MIZUHO FINANCIAL GROUP UP AFTER BUYBACK NEWS** Mizuho Financial Group, Japan's No.2 bank, climbed 3.7 percent to 557,000 yen after it booked its first quarterly loss in five years but said it aimed to buy back up to 400 billion yen of its own shares, equal to about 6.5 percent of its market value in the current year.

It said it may buy back another 400 billion yen worth in the year to March 2010. [ID:nT237906] 0039 GMT

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