TOKYO, JAPAN - Bucking the economic gloom, Japan's Sharp Corp. said Thursday that it would move to boost production of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels to meet increasing demand for flat-screen televisions.

Sharp will increase production capacity by 10 percent at its Kameyama No. 2 plant in central Japan sometime from August.

The company, which makes the popular AQUOS brand of LCD televisions, is also preparing to put a new LCD plant in Sakai, western Japan, into operation in October, ahead of the original schedule.

Despite the global recession, Sharp sees a bright future for LCD TVs, particularly in emerging markets such as China.

It expects to return to profit in the current fiscal year to March, after suffering its first annual loss last year amid the global economic slump.