Major Japanese companies boosted their profits in the July-September quarter, led by auto and consumer electronics makers exploiting growing demand in emerging market economies, a report said Sunday. The combined pre-tax group profit of 475 listed Japanese firms, which close their books every March and had released their quarterly earnings by Friday, jumped 86 percent year-on-year in the quarter, the business daily Nikkei said.
Of the 475 - which do not include financial institutions or firms listed on new stock markets - 215 posted higher sales and profits in an uptrend also helped by streamlining efforts and a demand recovery in the United States and Europe, the daily said.
The combined profit of all the surveyed firms reached 98 percent of the level recorded for the April-June 2008 quarter, the period before the onset of the global financial crisis, the daily said.
It was also up 14 percent from the preceding April-June quarter when profit recovery became noticeable, Nikkei added.
But many companies remain cautious about prospects for the six months to March 2011, citing such concerns as the yen's appreciation and an economic slowdown in the United States and Europe, the daily said.
The 475 companies expect their combined pre-tax profit will dip two percent on the year during the six months to March 2011, Nikkei said. They still hope that the combined profit for the year to March will be more than 40 percent higher than the preceding year.