Japan April-Sept. Biz Earnings Down for 1st Time in 4 Yrs

   Tokyo, Nov. 13 (Jiji Press)--Japanese listed companies that released April-September business results logged their first combined net profit decrease in four years for the fiscal first half, hurt by an automotive testing scandal and the sluggish Chinese economy.
   An SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. tally of 1,080 component companies of the TOPIX stock index that had announced their April-September results as of Monday shows that their combined net profits fell 4.9 pct from a year before to 19,902.1 billion yen.
   Despite positive developments for the semiconductor industry and demand from foreign tourists, business leaders worry that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump may implement policies once in office that could deal blows to their operations.
   "The weakness of the yen, which had bolstered exporters' profits, subsided in summer, and manufacturers' capital investments remained stagnant due to the weak Chinese economy and high U.S. interest rates," said Hikaru Yasuda, chief equity strategist at SMBC Nikko. "There were many negative surprises this earnings season."

(2024/11/13-17:59)

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