Japan's Rakuten Q4 operating profit rises 73%, beats estimates

[TOKYO] Japanese online retailer Rakuten Inc on Thursday said operating profit rose 73 per cent in October-December, beating analyst estimates, due to sales growth at its shopping portal and Internet finance division.

Japan's largest e-commerce company said profit reached 33.28 billion yen (S$0.38 billion) in its fourth quarter, versus the 31.2 billion yen average estimate of four analysts polled by Thomson Reuters StarMine.

Shares of Rakuten ended 0.36 per cent lower ahead of the earnings release, compared with a 1.85 per cent gain in the broader market.

REUTERS