Question: How do you get to be on the Forbes list of the world¡¯s billionaires? You might inherit your wealth, take risks and get lucky, or work for it. For Soichiro Fukutake, owner of Berlitz¡¯s parent company Benesse, it¡¯s a case of ¡°all the above.¡±
For Benesse Corp. and its president, things are looking up: Net sales totaled ?384 billion in fiscal 2007 (which ended March 31), an 8.4 percent increase over a year earlier; operating profits hit ?34.9 billion, up 11.4 percent on fiscal 2006, according to the company¡¯s Web site, which boasts of ¡°the fifth consecutive year of record-breaking performance for the company.¡±
Benesse¡¯s ¡°Language Company¡± sector ¡ª dominated by flagship Berlitz ¡ª was running a loss back in fiscal 2004, but profits have been increasing by about a couple of billion yen a year since then. The sector now accounts for some 16 percent of the parent company¡¯s total sales and 18 percent of its profits.
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