Japan-based Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. (Sumitomo Metals) has announced its consolidated financial results for the third quarter of the Japanese financial year 2009-10, ending March 31, 2010.
Accordingly, the company's net sales declined by 34.9 percent year on year to JPY 326.05 billion ($3.61 billion), while it registered an operating loss of JPY 3.12 billion ($34.56 million) compared to operating income of JPY 79.04 billion in Q3 FY 2008-09. Sumitomo Metals' net loss for the quarter in question amounted to JPY 10.8 billion ($119.68 million), due to a decrease in sales prices as well as a worse sales mix and other factors, compared with a net profit of JPY 27.37 billion for the third quarter of FY 2008-09, though the company stated that during the third quarter steel demand for the automobile and other manufacturing industries and exports continued their recovery trend. The company's crude steel output in the given period totaled 3.26 million metric tons, improving by 16.85 percent quarter on quarter and down 2.98 percent year on year.
On the other hand, in the first nine months of the current fiscal year, the company's net sales decreased 37.6 percent compared to the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year, reaching JPY 924.79 billion ($10.25 billion). For the first three quarters, steelmaker posted an operating loss of JPY 31.18 billion ($345.63 million), and a net loss of JPY 57.48 billion ($637.16 million), compared to an operating income of JPY 209.78 billion and a net profit of JPY 119.46 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. Sumitomo Metals' crude steel production in the first nine months amounted to 8.33 million metric tons, declining by 19.9 percent year on year.
For the fourth quarter of FY 2009-10, Sumitomo Metals expects that demand for steel sheet will continue to improve and demand for steel pipe will grow gradually. The company anticipates it will become profitable in terms of operating income, ordinary income and net income in the fourth quarter. However, for the FY 2009-10 in general, the company has not changed its forecast of a net loss of JPY 50 billion from net sales of JPY 1.29 trillion, with 11.7 million metric tons of crude steel output.