21.   Analysts said while the earnings figure was on the low end of expectations, the strong increase in operating profit was surprising.

22.   Analysts cite higher raw material prices, as well as higher marketing costs that are likely to have affected operating profit.

23.   And hefty disposal of unrecoverable loans more than sucked up gains in operating profits posted by the trust banks.

24.   And even the operating profit profit came at the expense of much slower sales growth, as Amazon raised book prices substantially.

25.   And operating profits at the banks fell by an average of more than one-third from a year earlier.

26.   Appliances, medical systems and power generation all showed a drop in operating profit.

27.   Arnotts warned in January of a lower first-half operating profit because sales volumes were less than forecast.

28.   Arnotts warned in January of a lower first-half operating profit because sales volumes were lower than forecast.

29.   Argos was able to improve its operating profit even though it lowered its retail prices, he said.

30.   As expected, Sprint Corp. on Tuesday announced a drop in third-quarter operating profit and lower-than-expected revenue growth.