Culture Convenience Club Co. said its first-half net profit more than tripled to 3.28 billion, yen thanks to strong revenue growth from rental DVD movies.
For the six months ending in September, sales rose 12 percent to 100.52 billion yen. The operator of 1,163 Tsutaya rental movie stores said in addition to healthy performance of its existing outlets, new participation by regional rental chains in its franchise drove up profits.
The firm also announced it will reorganize its group structure in March, setting up a holding company that will have its rental chain, online and credit card businesses under its wing.
In August, the company set up a joint venture with Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. for Internet and packaged content. But Rakuten Inc. CEO Hiroshi Mikitani and CCC President Muneaki Masuda serve as outside board members for each other's firm.