Office machine maker Ricoh Co. said Thursday its consolidated net profit logged a year-on-year rise of 18 percent to 33.53 billion yen in the first half.
In a consolidated earnings report based on U.S. accounting standards, the company attributed the increase to a rise in overseas sales, increased domestic sales of more profitable value-added products and new products, a weaker yen, and cost-cutting efforts.
The firm's per-share net profit rose to 46.11 yen from the 40.97 yen recorded a year earlier.
Group sales rose 4.5 percent to 856.82 billion yen, with a 10.9 percent rise in overseas sales more than offsetting a 0.7 percent decline in domestic sales, the company said.
Ricoh said its pretax profit rose 6 percent to 55.67 billion yen.
The company said it will raise its interim dividend payments to 7 yen per share from the 6 yen dished out a year earlier.
For the full year through March 31, Ricoh said it expects to generate a consolidated net profit of 71 billion yen and a pretax profit of 121.5 billion yen on group sales of 1.75 trillion yen.
In 2001, the company chalked up a group net profit of 61.61 billion yen and a pretax profit of 113.95 billion yen on group sales of 1.67 trillion yen.