TOKYO - Two of Japan's megabanks posted mixed first-half earnings Friday but stuck to predictions of a return to profit for the full year, showing the recovery under way in the country's hard-hit financial sector.
Mizuho Financial Group said its profit for the six months through September was down 7.1 percent to 87.81 billion yen ($975.6 million) compared to the same period last year. First-half revenues fell 21.9 percent to about 1.5 trillion yen ($16.5 billion).
It had posted a 588.8 billion yen loss for the fiscal year ended March.
Mizuho, Japan's second-biggest banking group, kept unchanged its profit forecast for the fiscal year at 200 billion yen ($2.2 billion).
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, the country's No. 3 financial group, reported a 48 percent rise in profit for the first half at 123.54 billion yen ($1.37 billion).
Revenue declined 13.8 percent to 1.567 trillion yen ($17.4 billion).
Sumitomo Mitsui sank to its first annual loss in four years for the fiscal year ended March 31, with 373.5 billion yen of red ink.
It now expects a 220 billion yen ($2.4 billion) profit for the fiscal year through March 2010.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., the nation's biggest bank, reports earnings Wednesday.
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