Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. said Wednesday its nine-month profit rose 41 percent on contracts to build ships at higher prices.
Net income rose to ¥54.2 billion in the nine months to Dec. 31 from ¥38.5 billion a year earlier, the Tokyo-based company said in a prepared statement.
Sales rose 4 percent to ¥2.13 trillion.
Mitsubishi Heavy, which originated as a shipbuilder in 1884, delivered vessels from orders won at higher rates in 2004 and 2005.
The increase in prices countered losses incurred on earlier orders because of increased expenses, the company said.
"Profitability is improving as the company benefits from strong orders and takes cost-reduction measures," Yuichi Ishida, an analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. in Tokyo, said before the earnings announcement.