TOKYO, April 26 (Reuters) - Japan's Advantest reported on Friday that its full-year operating profit roughly halved and said the timing of a recovery in the chip testing market remains unclear.

The chip testing equipment company said its operating profit fell to 81.6 billion yen ($523 million) in the year ended March.

While the growth of generative artificial intelligence is expected to boost the tester market, weak demand for electronics such as smartphones and personal computers continues to weigh, Advantest said.

The company, whose shares have gained around 12% year-to-date, said it expects operating profit to increase by 10% to 90 billion yen in the current financial year.

The chip market is expected to improve in the latter half of the year, the company said, with ongoing demand for testers for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) chips.

Advantest said it made around half of its sales in China in the fourth quarter, compared to around a third of sales three months earlier. ($1 = 156.1000 yen) (Reporting by Sam Nussey; Editing by Savio D'Souza)