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TOKYO, Apr 12 (Reuters) Hitachi Ltd., Japan's largest electronics conglomerate, said on Wednesday it aims for higher sales and profit for the current business year, driven by recovery in flat panel TVs and other loss-making operations.

In an interview with Reuters, Hitachi President Kazuo Furukawa said the Tokyo-based company planned to press ahead with cost cuts that would more than offset price declines to achieve its target to turn around struggling hard disk drive, flat TV and display businesses in the second half.

''Carrying out cost cuts that exceed sales price declines is something Hitachi is very good at. We will press forward with it in an honest, steady way,'' Furukawa said.

Hitachi last October cut its net profit forecast for the full year to March 31 by nearly two-thirds to 20 billion yen ($170 million), weighed down by the sluggish performance of the three businesses, which were hit hard by sharp price falls.

Furukawa declined to elaborate on Hitachi's business outlook ahead of its full-year earnings announcement on April 27.

Furukawa, who replaced Etsuhiko Shoyama as president on April 1, said last week that he would focus on the three loss-making operations in his first year at the helm to turn them profitable as scheduled, and that he aims to achieve an operating profit margin of 5 percent as soon as possible.

Hitachi estimates its operating margin to have stood at 2.6 percent in the year ended on March 31.

($1=118.00 Yen) REUTERS PV ND1206