Japanese steelmaker
Kobe Steel has announced that it has revised its earnings forecast for the financial year 2012-13 ending on March 31, 2013, compared to the previous forecast, due to recent trends in its business performance.
Kobe Steel anticipates a downward revision of its earnings forecast for the first half of the financial year 2012-13 and the full financial year. Accordingly, the company now expects a net loss of JPY 50 billion ($644.34 million) for the first half of the financial year 2012-13 and JPY 60 billion ($773.22 million) for the full financial year. The steelmaker has also revised its net sales forecast down to JPY 870 billion ($11.2 billion) and JPY 1.75 trillion ($22.55 billion), for the first half and the full financial year, respectively.
Additionally,
Kobe Steel anticipates that steel inventory valuation will deteriorate in the iron and steel business due to lower raw material prices.