OSAKA (Kyodo) Hanshin Electric Railway Co. said Tuesday its group net profit in the first nine months of fiscal 2005 shot up 23.0 percent to 6.98 billion yen due in part to its Hanshin Tigers professional baseball club's winning the 2005 Central League pennant.
In its earnings report for the April-December period, the Osaka-based railway that also has department store and real estate businesses said its pretax profit surged 29.3 percent to 19.29 billion yen on a 5.6 percent rise in operating revenue to 225.74 billion yen.
The revenue includes greater Hanshin department store sales stoked by the ball club's victory and the admission fees earned at its Hanshin Koshien Stadium as well as sales of the team's character goods.
Hanshin Electric's performance has been closely watched as the Murakami Fund, a high-profile investment fund, stood up to the giant by cornering its shares and suddenly stepping forward as its top shareholder in the fall.