TOKYO -- Japan's publicly traded companies reported double-digit earnings growth for the April-September half when their results are combined. But 1% of companies accounted for 80% of all profit increases.
Interim earnings announcements for companies that close their books in March peaked Nov. 7. Group pretax profits rose 10%, or 1.34 trillion yen ($11.6 billion), from a year earlier at 1,106 companies that had released results by then, excluding financial services providers and utilities. Their combined earnings rose to a record, surpassing levels seen before the bankruptcy of U.S. company Lehman Brothers triggered global economic crises in 2008.
