企業経常利益　最高35兆円　　　気ままなリライト164

経常利益4〜6月、過去最大35兆円　歴史的円安が追い風 - 日本経済新聞

The Ministry of Finance’s corporate statistics for the April-June quarter, as well as for all of fiscal 2023, released on Monday, highlighted strong growth in ordinary profits across all industries, primarily driven by export-oriented companies. For fiscal 2023, ordinary profits saw a 12.1% year-on-year increase, reaching a record high of 106.77 trillion yen, with internal reserves also hitting a historic high of 600.99 trillion yen. Those trends, coupled with a rise in capital investment, may indicate a broader expansion of economic activity across a wider range of sectors, including non-export industries, suggesting that factors beyond exchange rates are at play.

According to data for the April-June quarter, total corporate ordinary profits (excluding finance and insurance) rose by 13.2% year-on-year to 35.77 trillion yen, marking the sixth consecutive quarter of growth and reaching a record high for a single quarter. Capital investment also saw strong growth, increasing by 7.4% year-on-year to 11.92 trillion yen, outpacing the 6.8% growth recorded in the January-March quarter. Notably, the non-manufacturing sector, rather than the manufacturing sector, was the main driver of this growth in capital investment.

When examining the growth in ordinary profits by industry, the manufacturing sector saw a 13.0% increase, largely boosted by the historic depreciation of the yen. Export-heavy industries such as automobiles, electronics, and machinery benefited from greater competitiveness abroad and higher profits when foreign earnings were converted to yen. For instance, the transportation machinery sector posted a 19.9% increase in profits. In the telecommunications sector, profits surged by 52.2%, fueled by strong domestic and international demand for artificial intelligence technologies.

In the non-manufacturing sector, ordinary profits rose by 13.3%, led primarily by service industries like retail. Rising domestic consumption and increased tourism, along with an influx of international visitors, spurred supermarket and drug store chains to expand and open new stores, resulting in a 50.5% jump in profits. The construction sector also posted strong growth, with profits up by 18.5%.

Capital investment increased across both the non-manufacturing and manufacturing sectors. In the non-manufacturing sector, particularly in service industries, investment in new entertainment and hospitality facilities drove a 10.9% rise. Meanwhile, manufacturing saw a 1.4% rise in factory investments, with sectors like telecommunications and electronics expanding investments to enhance productivity and meet growing demand.