TOKYO -- Corporate Japan delivered a record profit for fiscal 2016 despite headwinds from a strong yen that pushed down sales, as trading houses rebounded from a resources plunge and communications companies rode the smartphone boom.
Listed companies' net profit climbed 18%, the first increase in two years, as 461 of these businesses logged records, according to a Nikkei survey of 1,555 companies that close their books in March. Sales dipped 3% as the rapid appreciation of the home currency ate into overseas revenues. This marks the first time that Japan Inc. has reported a record profit despite lower sales since consolidated reporting began in earnest in the 2000s.
