Japan firms' net profit in Jan.-March falls 41.3% on cost hikes.
As Kyodo News reported on May 13, the total net profit of listed companies in Japan dropped 41.3 percent to 4.94 trillion yen ($38.34 billion) in the January to March period from the previous quarter, reflecting the surge in raw material costs prompted by the Ukraine crisis, according to a recent tally by a securities firm.