TOKYO, May 2 (Reuters) - Japanese trading house Marubeni ( MARUF )

on Friday posted a 7% increase in net profit for the

year ended in March at 503 billion yen ($3.5 billion), its

second biggest ever and beating forecasts.

A LSEG poll of analysts had forecast Marubeni's ( MARUF ) fiscal year

net profit at 498 billion yen. The company forecasts net profit

for the year ending next March at 510 billion yen, which

includes a 30 billion yen loss buffer for unexpected events.

Marubeni's ( MARUF ) loss buffer follows a similar move by its peer

Sumitomo Corp ( SSUMF ) on Thursday which set aside 40 billion

yen for 'a certain degree of indirect impact' from U.S. tariffs

on Japan, which Tokyo is now trying to avert.

While setting aside the loss buffer, Marubeni ( MARUF ) does not

expect significant and immediate negative impact from U.S.

tariffs, Chief Executive Masayuki Omoto told a briefing.

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway ( BRK/A ) is a large

minority shareholder in Marubeni ( MARUF ), Sumitomo ( SSUMF ) and a number of other

Japanese trading houses and has recently been increasing its

ownership.

Marubeni ( MARUF ) targets growth investments of 570 billion yen

for the year ending next March, including in power trading and

food business, and plans shareholder distributions at 210

billion yen as it aims for shareholder return ratio of around

40%.

The company plans to buy back up to 4.2% of its shares

worth 70 billion yen and consider 230 billion yen in

divestments, mainly in its infrastructure and finance business,

it said.

($1 = 145.4300 yen)