TOKYO, Oct. 30, 2009 (Kyodo News International) -- NTT Docomo (NYSE:DCM) Inc., Japan's largest mobile phone operator, said Friday it posted a group net profit of 284.72 billion yen in the first half of fiscal 2009, down 17.9 percent from a year earlier, amid an economic slowdown causing a double-digit percentage fall in handset sales.

In its consolidated earnings report for the April-September period, NTT Docomo also said its operating profit declined 15.9 percent to 485.22 billion yen on operating revenues to 2.15 trillion yen, down 5.4 percent.

With consumers tightening their purse strings, NTT Docomo saw its handset sales decrease 14.2 percent to 8.81 million units during the six-month period.

NTT Docomo as well as other mobile phone carriers benefited in fiscal 2008 that ended in March from newly introduced installment payment plans for the purchase of handsets, which cut sales incentives provided to retailers. The new business model has encouraged users to switch models less frequently due to the higher costs of handsets in exchange for lower call fees.

The business results in the just-ended fiscal first half show the aftereffects of such a profit boost.

For the entire fiscal year to next March 31, NTT Docomo expects a group net profit of 493 billion yen, up 4.5 percent from the previous year, and an operating profit of 830 billion yen, down 0.1 percent, on a 3.9 percent drop in revenues to 4.28 trillion yen.