Sharp said on Friday it expected revenue from Chinese smartphone makers to increase fivefold in the six months to September after a jump in smartphone panel orders helped boost operating profit by 55 percent in the first quarter. Sharp said increased demand from customers led it to earn an operating profit of 2.1 billion yen (12 million pounds) in its LCD panel business after posting a 9.5 billion yen loss on the unit in the same quarter last year.

Sharp has shifted its display panel production from large panels for TVs toward the more lucrative small panels used in smartphones and tablets.

Sharp is said to use its Kameyama No.2 factory to make panels for Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi's RedMi phone and its RedMi 5.5 inch phablet. Xiaomi is currently the world's fifth-largest smartphone vendor, according to market research firm Strategy Analytics.

Sharp is said also to have also started making panels for the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 at its Kameyama No.1 factory with the new model scheduled for release around September.