Equity disposal lifts MUFG earnings

TOKYO: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) yesterday reported a 27.8 per cent rise in net profit for the six months ended September, as smaller bad loan costs and gains from selling equity holdings helped offset a weak lending business. MUFG said its net profit came in at 626.9 billion yen (RM23.17 billion) for the April-September period, up from 490.5 billion yen a year earlier. For the full-year through March, it kept it net profit forecast at 950 billion yen, up 2.5 per cent from the previous year.