Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsui & Co., Japan's two largest trading houses, on Tuesday reported record earnings for the year through March, helped by surging petrochemical and natural resources markets.

Mitsubishi, the No. 1 trader in terms of revenue, said its net profit for fiscal 2003 jumped 85 percent to a record 115.37 billion yen. Sales rose 14 percent to 15.18 trillion yen.

It was also the first time for a Japanese trading house to post a net profit topping 100 billion yen, the company said.

The company said strong demand for energy resources such as petroleum and liquefied natural gas, as well as petrochemical and metal products, boosted its revenue and earnings.

A solid performance by its automobile business in Asia also helped, it added.

Likewise, Mitsui said its net profit more than doubled to 68.39 billion yen for the year, on revenue of 12.28 trillion yen, up 7 percent.

The company also said it enjoyed brisk trading in the energy, petrochemical and metal businesses. It said a recent surge in steel demand pushed up its earnings, as it saw an increase in steel exports to China and other parts of Asia.

Moreover, the company said its cell phone handset retailing business fared well.

From convenience stores to aerospace, Japan's trading houses have a diverse business portfolio through far-reaching investments, including in coal and iron ore mines overseas.

Itochu Corp., Japan's third-biggest trading house, said the same day it logged a net loss of 31.94 billion yen, down from a net profit of 20.08 billion yen a year ago, after it wrote down 123.3 billion yen in fixed assets.

During the day's news conference, Mitsubishi chief financial officer Ichiro Mizuno said demand for natural resources will probably remain strong for the current year, with the U.S. and Asian economies expected to remain robust for a while.

Asked about potential financial assistance for Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Mizuno said the troubled automaker must come up with a revival plan that "makes business sense" for his company to pitch in and help.

Citing decreasing cross-shareholdings and the growing presence of overseas and individual investors, he said it has become increasingly difficult for his company to bail out MMC just because it happens to have Mitsubishi in its name.