Japan-based Unicharm Petcare Corp. stock prices rose 5.5% after the petfood maker reported 27.4% growth in its operating profit for the year that ended in March, according to an  article  from Forbes .

The demand for the company's products increased with more people in Japan owning pets, causing Unicharm's operating profit to rise 6.6 billion yen (US$68 million) in 2008.

Unicharm expects its operating profit for this financial year to increase another 6.2%.