Japanese steelmakers post record profits

JFE Holdings Company and Kobe Steel Limited, two of Japan's major steelmakers, posted record annual profits thanks to robust demand at home and abroad. JFE said it saw an all-time high group net profit of Yen 326 billion ($2.8 billion) in the fiscal 2005 ended on March 31, up 103.7 percent from the previous year. In addition Kobe Steel reported its second-highest net profit of Yen 84.56 billion ($738 million), up 64.9 percent. JFE's sales rose 10.5 percent to Yen 3.10 trillion due to the higher-than-expected demand for steel and better-than-expected business environments. Kobe Steel's sales rose 15.5 percent to Yen 1.67 trillion thanks to robust demand from the shipbuilding, automotive and industrial machinery sectors.