Japanese steelmaker Marubeni-Itochu Steel Inc. has announced its financial results for the first half ended September 30 of the financial year 2015-16.
For the given period, Marubeni-Itochu has reported a net profit of JPY 9.1 billion ($74.63 million), decreasing by 39.3 percent year on year. The company's net sales revenues for the first half of the current fiscal year amounted to JPY 1.019 trillion ($8.35 billion), down 2.2 percent year on year.
The company stated that its business environment proved harsh on both the demand and market fronts. Major factors included broad downturns in oil and gas development projects, linked to the falling price of crude oil, and decreased demand in the global marketplace due to a surge in exports from Chinese mills. Against this backdrop, the company’s consolidated performance for the first half was heavily affected by downturns in both demand and market activity.