The world's second biggest steelmaker Japan-based Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. (NSSMC) has announced its financial results for the financial year 2014-15 ended March 31, posting a net profit of JPY 214.3 billion ($1.8 billion), falling 11.7 percent year on year. In the given period, the company's net sales amounted to JPY 5.6 trillion ($47.05 billion), up 1.7 percent compared to the previous year. During FY 2014-15, NSSMC's steelmaking and steel fabrication segment recorded net sales of JPY 4.9 trillion ($41.17 billion), increasing by 1.2 percent year on year.
According to NSSMC, domestic steel demand continued to be firm but dipped slightly from the previous year due in part to the lingering impact of the consumption tax hike. Steel exports remained generally flat supported by the gradual recovery in the global economy. However, the international commodity markets were in a downtrend, with Chinese and South Korean steelmakers continuing to supply more in the market, in addition to which there was a decline in prices of iron ore and other primary raw materials, and a slowdown in steel demand in developing countries
Overall domestic steel demand in the first half of the current financial year is expected to remain firm, which is partly offset by a decline in demand mainly due to seasonal factors in the construction sector and the impact of inventory adjustment in the automotive sector. In the second half, the company anticipates a recovery in demand, with contributions coming from demand for cars and a pick-up in housing starts as well as a recovery in capital expenditure. In the first quarter, particularly, inventories will have to be adjusted downward by reducing production so as to address the high steel inventory levels held by customers and in the market in general.
Meanwhile, in the given period, NSSMC produced 47.32 million mt of crude steel, down 1.74 percent, while the company's steel product shipments amounted to 41.88 million mt, falling by a slight margin of 0.33 percent, both year on year.