DoCoMo posts record $3 billion profit

DoCoMo's profit was above expectations

In this story: I-mode subscribers to reach 30 million Little impact from 3G delay RELATED SITES

TOKYO, Japan -- NTT DoCoMo, Japan's largest wireless operator, posted a stronger than expected $3 billion net profit for the past business year, powered by its fast-growing mobile Internet services.

DoCoMo, Japan's largest company by market capitalization, said on Wednesday that consolidated net profit rose 45 percent to a record 365.5 billion yen ($3.01 billion) for the year ended March 31.

Revenue rose 26 percent to 4.69 trillion yen.

DoCoMo's earnings were better than the company's target of 309 billion yen.

"We are very pleased with the results and they are above our original expectations," DoCoMo president and chief executive Keiji Tachikawa told a news conference. "This shows that Japan's mobile communications market is still strong."

I-mode subscribers to reach 30 million

For the 2001-02 business year, DoCoMo expects net profit of 390 billion yen on sales of 5.30 trillion yen.

The company also estimated subscribers to its fast-growing i-mode mobile Internet access service would reach nearly 30 million by the end of this business year to next March, compared with 23.2 million according to the latest figures.

Kirk Boodry, telecoms analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, said the i-mode forecast appeared rather conservative. His own projection is 31.3 million.

"The company's forecasts for 2001-02 were largely in line with what we have been looking for, but the strong results are likely to have a positive impact on the stock price."

DoCoMo shares fell 3.3 percent to 2.64 million yen on Wednesday before the earnings announcement. They have risen more than one-third since the beginning of the year, making it the best-performing stock among major telecommunications operators worldwide.

Little impact from 3G delay

Analysts say DoCoMo's recent decision to delay the full commercial launch of third-generation (3G) mobile services to October 1 from May 30 is unlikely to have any meaningful impact on its earnings outlook.

The 3G services promise faster access to the Internet and such features as video conferencing on mobile phones.

Tachikawa told the news conference he expected only a modest 20 billion yen in sales of 3G handsets and services this business year.

The data traffic generated by DoCoMo's i-mode service has driven profits to record levels and is supporting the bottom line of parent Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp, whose regional units are struggling with high costs and rising competition.

Reuters contributed to this report.

NTT DoCoMo
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