Mitsubishi UFJ's Profit Surges on Trading Gains, Higher Fees, Commissions

By Kosaku Narioka

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group's first-half net profit quadrupled from a year earlier thanks partly to gains from trading and fees and commissions, as well as the absence of special losses booked last year.

The Japanese financial company said Tuesday that net profit increased to 927.28 billion yen ($6.11 billion) for the six months ended Sept. 30 from Y231.09 billion in the year-earlier period. That beat the estimate of Y871.22 billion compiled in a poll of analysts by data provider Visible Alpha. The year-earlier results were weighed by losses related to the sale of U.S.-based Union Bank.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial maintained its net-profit guidance of Y1.300 trillion for the fiscal year ending March 2024. The company also said it would buy back up to Y400.0 billion of its own shares by the end of March 2024.

First-half net fees and commissions rose 11% from a year earlier to Y781.33 billion, while net trading profits more than doubled to Y186.22 billion from Y89.42 billion.

The company recorded net losses on debt securities of Y49.80 billion, down from losses of Y497.18 billion a year earlier. It booked total credit costs of Y181.23 billion, smaller than Y243.83 billion the prior year.

Meanwhile, net interest income dropped 27% to Y1.230 trillion due partly to the absence of one-off gains from the cancellation of certain investment trusts recorded last year.

Revenue increased 31% to Y5.666 trillion.

Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 14, 2023 03:40 ET (08:40 GMT)

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