NTT DoCoMo Inc. said Wednesday its group net profit in the April-December period rose 5.5 percent from a year earlier to ¥416.49 billion, helped by increased revenue from data communications services amid the growing popularity of smartphones.

It reported a consolidated operating profit of ¥702.18 billion, down 5.6 percent from a year before, dragged down by increased costs for sales of its handsets. Operating revenue was ¥3.37 trillion, up 6.2 percent year on year.

Data communications revenue rose 7.7 percent from a year before to ¥1.48 trillion and the number of smartphones sold during the nine-month period surged 75.2 percent to 9.69 million units.