Japanese steelmaker Kobe Steel Ltd has issued its financial results for the first nine months ending December 31 of the financial year 2023-24.
For the given period, Kobe Steel has reported a net profit of JPY 109.73 billion ($733.56 million), increasing from the net profit of JPY 47.5 billion recorded in the same period of the previous financial year. The company’s net profit reached a record high. The company’s consolidated net sales revenues for the first nine months of the financial year amounted to JPY 1.87 trillion ($12.52 billion), rising by 4.9 percent year on year due to higher selling prices in the materials business and the construction machinery business, and the start of operation of Kobe Power Plant No. 4.
Kobe Steel produced 4.47 million mt of crude steel in the period in question, down 4.5 percent, while its sales volume totaled 3.59 million mt, falling by 4.2 percent, both year on year.
For the full financial year 2023-24, Kobe Steel’s crude steel production is expected to be about 5.90 million mt. The company’s sales volume is expected to total about 4.70 million mt in the given year, slightly lower than the previous forecast due to a decline in demand outside the automotive sector where demand remains strong. In addition, Kobe Steel expects its sales revenues to total JPY 2.56 trillion in the full financial year.