Mitsubishi Corp raised its full-year profit forecast by 100 billion yen to 1.2 trillion yen last week and approved a share buyback of up to 1 trillion yen, after first-half profit at Japan's largest trading house jumped 74.2% to 619.7 billion yen.

The figures, released on Nov. 4, mark a sharp turn from a year earlier, when first-half profit fell 42.4% and the company guided to a weak year, according to RTTNews. For investors in Asia, the buyback is the bigger signal. A repurchase of this size puts steady demand under the shares for the next nine months while lifting earnings per share and return on equity.

Energy and mineral resources drive the Mitsubishi Corp recovery

Profit attributable to owners of the parent reached 619.7 billion yen in the six months to Sept. 30, up from 355.8 billion yen a year earlier, the company's summary report showed. Revenue rose 20.5% to 10.41 trillion yen, which the company attributed to higher market prices. Basic earnings per share came to 169.21 yen.

Every one of the seven reporting segments earned more than a year earlier. Energy & Power Solution was the largest contributor, with profit of 190.1 billion yen against 102.6 billion yen. Mineral Resources more than tripled its profit to 135.8 billion yen from 41.6 billion yen, helped by higher copper prices that lifted earnings from equity-method affiliates. The segment's equity-method profit rose to 51.0 billion yen from 22.5 billion yen.

The consumer and infrastructure businesses also grew. Smart-Life Creation earned 76.8 billion yen, up from 49.2 billion yen. Urban Development & Infrastructure rose to 66.6 billion yen from 42.9 billion yen, Mobility to 59.3 billion yen from 38.7 billion yen and Food Industry to 44.9 billion yen from 34.1 billion yen. Materials Solution made 28.5 billion yen.

Asset sales added to the total. The company booked 16.7 billion yen of gains on disposals of property, plant and equipment, which it linked to sales in its Australian steelmaking coal business.

The new forecast for the year ending March 2027 is 9.1% above the 1.1 trillion yen outlook issued on May 1. Mitsubishi said it expects higher earnings mainly from Energy & Power Solution and Mineral Resources. The first half has already delivered about 52% of the new full-year target.

The company paid an interim dividend of 62 yen a share and kept its annual dividend forecast at 125 yen.

A 1 trillion yen buyback, about 6% of shares

Under a notice filed with the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Mitsubishi will buy up to 420 million of its own shares, worth no more than 1 trillion yen, through market purchases on the exchange between Nov. 5, 2026 and July 31, 2027. The company said that equals about 6% of shares outstanding excluding treasury stock, based on the Nov. 2 closing price. It plans to cancel all the shares it buys on Aug. 31, 2027.

Mitsubishi had 3.66 billion shares outstanding excluding treasury stock at the end of September. It has already shrunk its share count this fiscal year: the cancellation of treasury stock from an earlier program cut issued shares to about 3.71 billion from 4.03 billion, the summary report showed.

The company said the new buyback aims to further improve capital efficiency under its "Corporate Strategy 2027" plan, while it keeps discussing disciplined investments to support growth and maintains financial soundness. Mitsubishi's growth spending this year includes its LNG Canada business, where a Blackstone-led group agreed to invest $3.1 billion in the unit.

Chief Executive Katsuya Nakanishi said the company aims to keep profit at 1.2 trillion yen or more in the following fiscal year even without help from commodity prices, according to Finimize.

Japan's trading houses ride firmer commodity prices

Mitsubishi was not alone. Mitsui & Co raised its net profit forecast for the year by 14% to 1.05 trillion yen, Finimize reported, as both groups gained from firmer energy and metals prices. Two days earlier, Sumitomo Corp lifted its forecast to 670 billion yen and raised its dividend on gas and metals trading.

The pattern matters for shareholders across the region. Mitsubishi's program, which would cancel about 6% of its shares, shows higher commodity earnings flowing back to shareholders rather than staying on the balance sheet.

The buyback window closes on July 31, 2027, and the repurchased shares are set to be cancelled a month later.