TOKYO—Leading Japanese mobile phone carrier NTT DoCoMo said Friday net profit sagged in 2011 due to an additional tax burden, but growing smartphone use had boosted operating profit.
Net profit for the year to March slipped 5.4 percent from a year ago to ¥63.9 billion ($5.7 billion), mainly due to changes in the tax code, the company said.
But operating profit rose 3.5 percent to ¥74.5 billion, on sales of ¥.2 trillion, up 0.4 percent from the previous year.
Solid earnings came as strong sales of smartphones have increased revenue from subscribers expanding their use of data services, DoCoMo said.
For the year to March 2014, the company forecast net profit would jump 20.1 percent to ¥57 billion. Operating profit should edge up 2.9 percent to ¥00 billion, on sales of ¥.45 trillion, up 5.0 percent.
DoCoMo is by far the market leader in Japan with just over 60 million subscribers versus 35.1 million at KDDI and about 28 million at Softbank. Dow Jones Newswires contributed to this report —Agence France-Presse
source:gmanetwork.com
