Japan's second-largest steelmaker JFE Holdings Co. has announced that for the first nine months ending December 31 of the fiscal year 2011-12 it registered a net loss of JPY 37.26 billion ($480 million), compared to a net profit of JPY 64.53 billion ($846.30 million) in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year. The strength of the yen and securities valuation losses contributed to the net loss of JFE Holdings for the given period, causing the company to sharply downgrade its outlook for its full-year financial results.
For the full fiscal year ending March 31, 2012, JFE Holdings now expects a net loss of JPY 40 billion ($525 million) compared to previous expectations for a net profit of JPY 20 billion ($262 million), while it has revised its full-year operating profit outlook down from JPY 100 billion ($1.31 million) to JPY 40 billion ($525 million). Meanwhile, JFE Holdings’ sales revenue forecast for the full fiscal year has been revised down from JPY 3.36 trillion ($44.07 billion) to JPY 3.2 trillion ($41.97 billion).