Kobe Steel Ltd., Japan’s third-biggest steelmaker, said first-quarter profit fell 48 percent, dragged lower by weaker-than-anticipated sales of machinery.
Net income was 11.9 billion yen ($96 million) for the three months ended June 30, compared with 22.9 billion yen a year earlier, according to a statement from the company, which is based in Japan’s port city of Kobe.
Kobe Steel, which makes everything from steel and aluminum to steelmaking plants, said earnings at its construction equipment unit slid 84 percent on weakness in China.
The company booked a one-time charge to write down the value of securities investments of its Chinese affiliate involved in the construction equipment business.
In another sign of the slump in China and its impact on Japanese companies, Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. said Tuesday that net income fell 47 percent in the quarter to 2.80 billion yen. Sales declined 5.5 percent.
Hitachi Machinery’s challenges were flagged a month ago when its chief executive officer said in an interview that sales in China had declined more than he expected.
As a result, Hitachi Machinery was planning to run its plant in the eastern province of Anhui at 40 percent to 50 percent of capacity in the July-September quarter, Yuichi Tsujimoto said.
Kobe Steel said it produced 1.84 million metric tons of crude steel in the first quarter, up 4 percent from a year ago.
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. and JFE Holdings Inc., the country’s two biggest steel suppliers, are scheduled to release first-quarter earnings on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
Source: Bloomberg
- metaljunction »
- Metal News
Metal News & Events
METALJUNCTION PUBLICATIONS
Coal Insights (English) Monthly
Coal Insights is a ready reckoner for anyone associated with coal. This publication is aimed at tracking everything related to coal in India.
India Coal Market Watch(English) Monthly
ICMW is a one-stop source for all news, data and research pertaining to coal demand, consumption, stocks, spot- and long-term prices with respect to the Indian Market.
India Steel Market Watch (English) Monthly
ISMW is a brand new high-end steel market report, covering all aspects of the steel industry in India.
Steel Insights(English) Monthly
Steel Insights delves into various facets of the domestic and global steel industry such as market fundamentals, raw material price trends, price forecasts etc.