East Japan Railway Co. on Wednesday revised upward its group net profit forecast for the 2001 business year to 82 billion yen from the previous 79 billion yen, as gains from sales of shares in an affiliate eclipsed appraisal losses on its securities holdings.
For the year through March 31, JR East said it will likely post a 110.92 billion yen extraordinary gain from the sale of a portion of its equity stake in Japan Telecom Co. to Vodafone International Holdings B.V., a British cellular operator. Appraisal losses will total 38.38 billion yen.
For the April-September period, JR East revised downward its group net profit forecast by 44 percent to 28 billion yen because of appraisal losses. The proceeds from share sales will only pad its profitability in the second half of the business year.