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.