Japan's economy may have contracted in Q1 2018, but the broader trend continues to be one of improvement.
Inflation is positive and while wage growth has been modest so far, it has shown signs of gaining momentum. A continuation of steady economic expansion globally has also been supportive. Against this backdrop, Japanese companies delivered strong earnings for the fiscal year that ended in March. Consensus expectations are pre-tax profit growth is likely to moderate over the next fiscal year, but this should still result in another year of higher profits. Manufacturing companies are leading the way, with profit growth supported by internal restructuring and cost improvements as well ...
To continue reading this article...
Join Investment Week for free
- Unlimited access to real-time news, analysis and opinion from the investment industry, including the Sustainable Hub covering fund news from the ESG space
- Get ahead of regulatory and technological changes affecting fund management
- Important and breaking news stories selected by the editors delivered straight to your inbox each day
- Weekly members-only newsletter with exclusive opinion pieces from leading industry experts
- Be the first to hear about our extensive events schedule and awards programmes