Bandai Co. said Tuesday its net profit rose 12 percent to a record 14.21 billion yen for the year through March, with Power Rangers characters enjoying strong popularity overseas.

Revenue for the country's largest toy maker was up 7 percent to 263.17 billion yen.

The company continued to benefit from the strength of its hero characters among boys, such as Kamen Rider 555, at home.

In Europe, the solid performance of girls' toys such as Bratz dolls also contributed to the revenue and profit growth.

But in North America, large marketing expenses to promote new characters and a lower profit margin pushed down profits by nearly 60 percent, though the muscle of the Power Rangers showed no signs of atrophy.

In a gauge of just how Bandai derives its growth from the popular characters, the company said sales from Mobile Suit Gundam items racked up one-fifth of total group revenue for fiscal 2003.

Yet Bandai President Takeo Takasu warned against the heavy reliance on a few mainstay characters, saying 20 percent of total sales is uppermost for one character in terms of risk management.

The company knows too well the danger of putting all its eggs in one basket: It suffered large losses in the late 1990s when the sudden bust of its Tamagotchi digital pet boom left it with a lot of its stock stuck in warehouses.

In March, Bandai released its successor model Tamagotchi Plus. Takasu said sales are going well, with the nearly 400,000 units made so far already on the way to selling out.

Despite his confidence that Bandai will reach its target of 2 million by the end of March 2005, he remained cautious: "I think we can sell more if we make more, but you know, we had a bitter experience."