Kirin Annual Net Profit Declines 35%

Japan's Kirin Holdings Co

reported a 35% drop in its net profit for the business year ended December 31. Kirin's net profit for the period declined to Y7.41 billion, from a year-ago profit of Y11.39 billion. Its sales dropped 4.9% to Y2.072 trillion from Y2.178 trillion. Its operating profit fell 5.8% to Y142.86 billion from Y151.61 billion. For this fiscal year, Kirin projects net profit to surge more than six-fold to Y48 billion. It also expects a 13% surge in operating profit. Kirin projects a 7.6% rise in its sales. Kirin shares closed at $12.23 yesterday.