TOKYO -- Japan's publicly traded businesses suffered a 2% decline in net profit for the fiscal year ended March as China's slowdown squeezed demand for smartphones and semiconductors, while the Sino-American trade war continues to loom over future earnings.
Net profit had jumped 12.6% on the year in the April-September half but dropped 14.6% in the second, shows data compiled by Nikkei from 849 companies that had released full-year results as of Friday. The profit decline is their first in three years. The companies surveyed account for just under 60% of all listed enterprises in Japan, excluding financial and startup-market companies.
