TOKYO -- The resurgent yen is likely to put the brakes on earnings growth for many Japanese companies this year, though the end to the free fall in crude oil prices is seen buoying oil distributors to the black.
Pretax profit of 181 listed companies that close their books in December likely will expand just 2% on the year to 3.07 trillion yen ($27 billion), compared with last year's 12% increase. Companies doing business globally are to be particularly hurt by a stronger yen.
