Mitsui Fudosan posts 32 pct rise in quarterly profit

TOKYO, July 30 (Reuters) - Mitsui Fudosan Co (8801.T), Japan's biggest property developer, reported a 32 percent rise in operating profit in April-June quarter, buoyed by a solid performance in apartment sales and by its office lease business.

In the three months to June, Mitsui Fudosan's operating profit rose to 35.6 billion yen ($375.1 million), with revenue rising 10 percent to 311.5 billion yen.

For the full business year to March 2010, Mitsui Fudosan stuck to its operating profit forecast of 150 billion yen, slightly above a consensus estimate for a 140 billion yen profit in a survey of 16 analysts polled by by Thomson Reuters.

Shares of Mitsui Fudosan closed unchanged at 1,657 yen before the announcement. The shares have fallen about 31 percent in the past 12 months, underperforming a 24.5 percent decline in the benchmark Nikkei 225 average .N225. (Reporting by Mariko Katsumura)