NTT is hoping the Internet and mobile phones will drive growth

Profit in the year to 31 March totalled 1.56 trillion yen (�7.8bn; $14bn).

However, the company warned that the current year would be much tougher, with earnings dented by mobile phone subsidiary NTT DoCoMo.

It forecast a 20% drop in operating profit, citing among other things the increased cost of providing faster and more complicated mobile phone services.

The company has spent hundreds of billions of yen on building one of the world's first operating third-generation mobile networks.

DoCoMo last week forecast a 25% drop in opertating profit .

As a result, NTT's total sales for the next fiscal year are expected to dip slightly to 10.9 trillion yen.

NTT appointed Masao Nakamura as the new chief executive of DoCoMo in a move that was widely expected.