Japanese steelmaker Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. (NSSMC) has announced its financial results for the first half ended September 30 of the financial year 2018-19, posting a net profit of JPY 141.3 billion ($1.25 billion), increasing by 42.5 percent compared to the first half of the previous financial year. In the given period, the company's net sales amounted to JPY 2.9 trillion ($25.62 billion), up 5.8 percent year on year.
During the April-September period, NSSMC's steelmaking and steel fabrication segment recorded net sales of JPY 2.56 trillion ($22.62 billion), rising by 4.88 percent year on year.
Meanwhile, in the given period, NSSMC produced 23.65 million mt of crude steel, up 1.8 percent, while the company's steel product shipments amounted to 18.56 million mt, increasing by 0.8 percent, both year on year.
According to NSSMC’s statement, in the steelmaking and steel fabrication segment, domestic steel demand continued to be firm, especially shipments to the automotive and industrial machinery sectors. Overseas steel demand as a whole was on a rising trend. In the domestic and overseas steel markets, prices were at a generally high level against a background of solid demand.
