Japanese steelmaker Kobe Steel Ltd has issued its financial results for the fiscal year 2016-17 ended March 31.
For the given period, Kobe Steel has reported a net loss of JPY 23.04 billion ($206.8 million), increasing from the net loss of JPY 21.55 billion recorded in the previous financial year. The company's consolidated net sales revenues for the full financial year amounted to JPY 1.69 trillion ($17.8 billion), down seven percent year on year.
Kobe Steel produced 7.21 million mt of crude steel in the period in question, down 3.6 percent year on year. Kobe's steel product sales volume in the given period decreased by 1.2 percent to six million mt, compared to the financial year 2015-16.
According to Kobe Steel, in the 2016-17 financial year, steel sales volume of the company decreased compared to the previous fiscal year. Although domestic sales volume to the automotive sector was firm, export volume declined. Sales prices went down, compared with the previous year, due to the high yen and fall in primary raw material prices until the second quarter of the year.
Regarding the 2017-18 financial year outlook, Kobe Steel forecasts net sales of about JPY 1.87 trillion ($16.78 billion) and a net profit of about JPY 30 billion ($269.25 million). The sales volume of steel products is anticipated to be higher than 2016-17 fiscal year. Demand in the shipbuilding sector is on a downward trend, but demand is expected to be firm mainly in the automotive sector. The sales prices are expected to be higher compared to the previous year, affected by the rise in raw material costs and other factors.