Japan's KDDI 2Q Group Net Profit Y60.39 Billion Vs Y48.85 Billion

TOKYO -(Dow Jones)- Japanese telecom carrier KDDI Corp., Thursday reported a 24% increase in fiscal second quarter net profit, driven by strong revenue growth from its "au" mobile phone services.

KDDI, Japan's second biggest mobile phone services firm after NTT DoCoMo, said its group net profit jumped to Y60.39 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30 from Y48.85 billion a year earlier.

Its group operating profit surged 36% to Y107.53 billion from Y78.85 billion as group revenue climbed 6.9% to Y806.43 billion from Y754.51 billion.

The news is a good sign for KDDI, which is set to face intensified pressure from rivals later this month, when a regulatory change will enable customers to keep their phone numbers when they switch carriers.

That will make it easier for customers to jump to a rival offering more attractive services. Competition with NTT DoCoMo and Softbank Corp. in the run-up to the charge already appears to have taken a toll. KDDI's average revenue per user, a common yardstick in the industry used to measure revenue performance, sagged to Y6,700 in July-September from Y6,810 in April-June.

It maintained its earnings forecasts for the full fiscal year through March. The company expects a group net profit of Y186.00 billion on group revenue of Y3.293 trillion.

The results are based on Japanese accounting standards.

-By Arran Scott, Dow Jones Newswires; 813-5255-2929; arran.scott@dowjones.com
-Edited by Tomoko Hosaka

(END) Dow Jones Newswires "

Posted to the site on 20th October 2006