Listed firms' combined profit soaring

The combined group pretax profit of all firms listed on the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange is likely to have set a record for the year to March 31 by eclipsing 20 trillion yen, a research institute said Friday.

The previous record was 18 trillion yen in fiscal 2000, when the economy was fired up by the information technology boom, Shinko Research Institute, a research arm of Shinko Securities Co., said.

The institute traced the solid earnings of the listed companies to spirited domestic sales of digital home appliances and strong exports to China, in addition to personnel cuts and other cost-cutting efforts at many firms.

The think tank has so far compiled the financial results of 140 listed companies. About 1,560 firms are listed on the TSE's first section.

The combined pretax profit of these firms soared 35.4 percent in fiscal 2003 over the previous year, representing the second yearly rise, it said.

The financial results at major home electrical appliance manufacturers have already surpassed analysts' expectations.

Since several hundred more listed firms are to release results toward the end of May, these firms' combined pretax profit is likely to end up rising more than the 35.4 percent, the think tank said.

By industrial sector, makers of home electronics appliances witnessed an average 97.2 percent leap in pretax profits, backed by brisk sales of liquid crystal display TVs, DVD players and other home digital gadgets, it said.

Hitachi Ltd. and nine other major makers of home electronics appliances saw their pretax balances either remain in, or return to, plus territory. Among the 10, Sharp Corp. posted a record group pretax profit of 111.60 billion yen, up 36.2 percent.

Steelmakers' combined pretax profit scored a 2.4-fold jump, with Nippon Steel Corp. spearheading the surge. Nippon Steel saw the unit prices of its steel products rise due to brisk demand, while its China-bound exports also fared well.

Automakers posted an average 13.7 percent jump in their pretax profits. Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Corp. led the upward momentum.