Major Japanese steel companies raise their profit forecasts

Japan Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal, JFE Holdings and Kobe Steel forecast the profits in  2017/2018 fiscal year (April 2017-March 2018). Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal expects to grow 70% year-on-year reach to 300 billion yen ; JFE Holdings is expected to expects to grow 240% year-on-year to 200 billion yen; Kobe Steel is expected to be 50 billion yen, a decrease of 5 billion yen from the previous forecast but said it is going to raise the profitability of core steel business.

In addition, benefiting from the steady demand of downstream industries such as automobiles, the profitability of Japan’s major special steel manufacturing enterprises increased significantly in the first half of the fiscal year. Although prices of raw materials rise, but through raising product sales prices, selling volumes and lowering costs. In the second half of the fiscal year, these special steel companies are expected to maintain high-level production, but rise prices of electrodes, refractory bricks and other auxiliary materials, and also exert pressure on profit growth.