Japan's NTT DoCoMo Profit Drops 15 Pct

Japan's top mobile phone carrier, NTT DoCoMo, said Friday its profit fell 15 percent in most recent quarter because of growing promotional costs and discounts that were needed to compete with rival carriers.Net income for the three months through September was 123.7 billion yen ($1.08 billion), down from 146.3 billion yen the previous year. Group revenue slipped 1.9 percent to 1.142 trillion yen ($10 billion) from 1.165 trillion yen.

The growing cost of selling mobile phone handsets and expanding its network led to lower profits, DoCoMo said.The company said revenue fell as it offered new discount services in the face of fierce competition with rival carriers KDDI Corp. and Softbank Corp., which have slashed rates and launched heavy sales promotions.

The top three carriers struggled to boost profitability. DoCoMo dominates the Japanese market, but has lagged behind its rivals in adding new users in recent months.For the fiscal first half through September, DoCoMo's group net profit fell 20.4 percent to 246.51 billion yen ($2.16 billion), down from 309.82 billion yen the previous year.Revenue during the six-month period fell 2.4 percent from a year ago to 2.33 trillion yen ($20.4 billion) from 2.38 trillion yen. The company said it plans to consolidate eight regional service operators across Japan in about a year to boost profits.

DoCoMo left its profit outlook unchanged for the fiscal year through March, but lowered its revenue estimate. It expects 476 billion yen ($4.16 billion) in group net profit and slashed the revenue forecast to 4.667 trillion yen ($40.83 billion) from 4.728 trillion yen.

NTT DoCoMo Inc., shares Friday ended up 1.99 percent at 154,000 yen ($1,347) on the Tokyo Stock Exchange before the company announced the earnings. The company's earnings results are based on U.S. accounting standards.