Kobe Steel's forecasts for 2003 fiscal

Kobe Steel’s forecasts for 2003 fiscal

Japanese steel producer Kobe Steel has recently announced its forecasts for 2003 fiscal, ending on March 31, 2004. According to 2003 fiscal forecasts, Kobe Steel expects its consolidated sales to be Yen 1.220 trillion ($11 billion), which is Yen 20 billion higher than the previous 2003 year forecasts. Moreover, pretax ordinary income is expected to increase to Yen 46 billion ($414 million), indicating an increase of Yen 3 billion against previous forecast. Net income is expected to be Yen 20 billion ($180 million), which is same with the previous forecast. Non-consolidated net sales are forecasted to be Yen 790 billion ($7.1 billion), which is also 10 billion higher than the previous forecast. For 2003 fiscal, Kobe Steel expects an increase in steel shipments and recovery in domestic demand.