INTERVIEW-UPDATE 1-Konica Minolta raises 2009/10 cost cut target

* Says will increase 2009/10 cost cuts by 5 billion yen

* Set to post first op profit in 3 quarters for July-Sept

* LCD film plant production may start earlier than planned (Adds Konica Minolta executive's comments, details)

TOKYO, Oct 23 - Office equipment maker Konica Minolta Holdings, hit by sluggish demand for printers in Europe, will make at least another 5 billion yen ($54.44 million) in cost cuts to shore up its profitability, a senior executive said.

Japan's Konica Minolta said in a statement on Friday that it had cut its annual operating profit forecast by 24 percent on sluggish demand for multi-functional printers (MFPs) in Europe.

MFPs typically combine copier, printer, scanner and fax functions.

"We managed to cut costs more than we originally intended in the first half (to the end of September), and we are now aiming for 38 billion yen for the full year," Senior Executive Officer Shoei Yamana told Reuters in an interview.

The company previously said it would cut 33 billion yen for the year to the end of March.

"As a matter of fact, we are aiming to go even further by lowering distribution, procurement and other costs," Yamana said.

Despite the downward revision for the full year, Konica Minolta is likely to post its first quarterly operating profit in three quarters for the July-September period and the company remains on the path to recovery as there is a healthy demand for its new MFPs, Yamana said.

"We saw a marked turnaround on the profitability front as we moved from the first quarter to the second," he said.

Konica Minolta said in its statement that its operating profit likely totalled 9.7 billion yen in the second quarter to the end of September, up from a 589 million yen loss in the prior three-month period.

It lowered its operating profit outlook to 34 billion yen for the full year from 45 billion yen the previous year, roughly in line with the consensus of 16 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The company is set to announce its earnings results for its April-September first half on Oct. 29.

Konica Minolta competes with Xerox Corp, Canon Inc and Ricoh Co Ltd in copiers and printers. It is also a major producer of triacetyl cellulose (TAC) film, a high-tech film used in LCD panels.

Yamana said the company may start production at its new TAC film plant in Japan earlier than planned as there had been brisk demand for LCD panels.

Konica Minolta said in July it would start output at the new TAC film factory by autumn 2010.

Konica Minolta and Fujifilm Holdings Corp dominates the global market for TAC film, which protects the polarisation plate used in LCD panels.

Prior to the earnings revision and Yamana's comments, Konica Minolta shares closed up 0.1 percent at 875 yen, keeping pace with the benchmark Nikkei average. ($1=91.85 Yen)