Japanese steelmaker Kobe Steel Ltd (Kobe) has issued its financial results for the first nine months ended December 31 of the financial year 2012-13.
For the given period, Kobe Steel reported a net loss of JPY 22.7 billion ($246.2 million), compared to a net income of JPY 12.6 billion in the corresponding period of the previous financial year. The company's consolidated net sales revenues for the first nine months of FY 2012-13 were JPY 1.24 trillion ($13.45 billion), down 11.5 percent year on year, while sales of its iron and steel segment declined by 12.4 percent to JPY 562.5 billion ($6.1 billion).
Kobe Steel produced 5.26 million mt of crude steel in the period in question, down 2.6 percent year on year. Kobe's steel product sales volume in the given period decreased by four percent to 4.36 million mt, compared to the same period of the financial year 2011-12. Although demand was strong in the domestic automotive industry until the second quarter of the financial year, the end of eco-friendly car subsidies as of the third quarter and a worsening of business conditions in China led to a slowdown in steel product sales.
For the full financial year, Kobe Steel expects a crude steel output of approximately 7 million mt, while steel product sales are expected to total around 5.8 million mt.
Although Kobe Steel has revised net sales for the financial year 2012-2013 downwards as the sales composition of steel products is anticipated to worsen, it has revised ordinary income upwards because overall costs are expected to improve, primarily due to progress in overall cost reductions, mainly in the machinery business.