NTT DoCoMo announced earnings for its fourth quarter of 2009 that show the Japanese operator more than doubled year-over-year profits, which the company attributes to its decision to slash the amount it pays to subsidize handset sales.

NTT cut operating costs by 7.6 percent and as a result, DoCoMo’s net profit rose from $365.6 million to $802.1 million for the fourth quarter.

The company attributes a rise in network services sales and more revenues from handset sales for dramatically increased operating profits. Operating profits jumped from $895.7 million to $1.3 billion.

NTT DoCoMo projects a net profit of $5.2 billion in its fiscal year of 2010/2011.