Japanese steelmaker
Kobe Steel Ltd (Kobe) has issued its financial results for the first nine months of the fiscal year 2013-14 ended December 31.
For the given period,
Kobe Steel reported a net profit of JPY 63.8 billion ($629.1 million), compared to a net loss of JPY 22.7 billion in the same period of the previous financial year. The company's consolidated net sales revenues for the first nine months amounted to JPY 1.32 trillion ($13 billion), up 6.2 percent year on year.
During the given period, the company's sales volume of steel products increased compared to the same period last year. Automotive demand has been strong both in
Japan and overseas, mainly in the US. Amid an improvement in the export environment due to a correction in the strength of the Japanese yen,
Kobe Steel has been steadily addressing overseas demand. Sales prices increased on year-on-year basis due to higher raw material prices, which were affected by exchange rates.
Kobe Steel produced 5.7 million mt of crude steel in the period in question, up 8.4 percent year on year. Kobe's steel product sales volume in the given period increased by 6.4 percent to 4.64 million mt, compared to the same period in the financial year 2012-13.