Mitsubishi Corp. said Tuesday its consolidated net profit rose 31.7 percent year on year in the April-September half to a record 234.83 billion yen, thanks in part to strong metal sales.
The trading house also set a 204.96 billion yen record for group operating profit, up 24.9 percent, while pretax profit surged 34.5 percent to 315.08 billion yen on sales of 9.84 trillion yen, up 9.1 percent.
Higher profit from its coal business in Australia and brisk steel sales by group firm Metal One Corp. more than offset rises in marketing and administrative costs, the trading house said in its semiannual report for fiscal 2006.
Though foreign-exchange losses rose, sizable gains were posted in dividend receipts and capital gains on the sale of securities, including shares in shopping center developer Diamond City Co.
Investment profits in the energy and metals businesses contributed to overall earnings growth, the company said.