Helped by a big swing in foreign exchange gains from the weak yen, Shimano’s net income soared in the final quarter to ¥34,986 million ($229.6 mm) from ¥973 million a year ago, as revenues jumped 17% to ¥116,114 million ($761.9 mm) from ¥99,098 million. Gross margin was off 20 basis points to 36.0% while operating expenses increased 12% but still leveraged 100 b.p. on the higher top line. The revenue improvement builds on 5% growth in Q3, the company’s first gain after six consecutive quarters of lower sales.

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