Sumitomo Realty & Development Co., Japan's third-biggest property developer, said Thursday its first-quarter profit rose 54 percent, as the country's real estate market accelerates out of a 14-year slump.
Net income rose to ¥29.9 billion in the three months that ended June 30, from ¥19.4 billion a year earlier, the company said in a statement distributed to the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Sales gained 22 percent to ¥211.5 billion from ¥174 billion.
Sumitomo Realty expects a third straight year of record profits as Japan enjoys its longest economic expansion since the war. Land price growth quickened last year to 8.6 percent, after prices advanced in 2005 for the first time since 1991.