Rakuten falls into red with net loss of 54.98 bil. yen in FY 2008+

TOKYO, Feb. 13 Kyodo -
Internet mall operator Rakuten Inc. said Friday it incurred a group net loss of
54.98 billion yen for the business year ended last December, falling into the
red for the first time in four years.

The loss in fiscal 2008, mainly attributed to appraisal losses on its stake in
Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc., compared with a net profit of 36.90 billion yen
logged in the previous year.
But group sales increased 16.8 percent to a record 249.88 billion yen due to
the robust performance of its mainstay online shopping mall business and online
travel services as bargain Internet prices appealed to consumers amid the
economic downturn.
''With sharp drops in delivery fees, consumers are keen about the cheaper
online prices,'' Rakuten President Hiroshi Mikitani said at a press briefing in
Tokyo.
Operating profit surged to a record 47.15 billion yen from fiscal 2007's 118
million yen due to declining costs at its consumer credit unit.
Rakuten, the largest shareholder in TBS, incurred extraordinary losses totaling
80.91 billion yen, including over 65 billion yen in appraisal losses caused by
a sharp drop in the Japanese broadcaster's share price. It also incurred losses
linked to the termination of a tie-up with Tokyo Tomin Bank, a Tokyo-based
regional bank.
The company, traded on the Jasdaq market for start-up companies, said it will
pay a full-year dividend of 100 yen per share, the same amount as the previous
year. It declined to provide an outlook for fiscal 2009, citing volatility in
the Internet and securities industries.
Separately, Rakuten said it will buy 333,000 new preferred shares in subsidiary
eBank Corp. for about 9.99 billion yen. The payment will be made March 19, it
said. Rakuten currently owns just over 46 percent of the Internet banking
service company.
==Kyodo