Sharp Q1 profit down on slower cellphone demand

TOKYO, July 31 (Reuters) - Japanese electronics maker Sharp Corp (6753.T) posted a 14 percent fall in quarterly profit, hit by slower mobile phone sales, but it stood by its annual outlook that falls slightly short of market expectations.

Operating profit at Sharp, the world's third-largest liquid crystal display (LCD) TV maker behind Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) and Sony Corp (6758.T), came to 36.43 billion yen ($337.5 million), down from 42.26 billion yen a year earlier.

Sharp suffered from a slowdown in demand for its mobile phones, one of its key growth drivers a year ago, although it enjoyed strong shipments of LCD panels to other TV makers as flat TVs continued to sell well worldwide.

For the full year to March 2009, the supplier of Aquos brand LCD TVs kept its operating profit forecast of 195 billion yen, up 6.2 percent on the year and narrowly missing a consensus of 197.3 billion yen in a poll of 18 analysts by Reuters Estimates.

Shares in Sharp have lost 26 percent this year through Wednesday, underperforming the Tokyo stock market's electrical machinery index .IELEC.T, which fell 15 percent. (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Lincoln Feast)