Japanese Stainless Steel Makers Post Lower Profits in F2007

Japanese 5 stainless steel makers hit the records of the consolidated sales in the business year ended in March 2008 compared with the previous business year, except for Takasago Tekko, due to the higher selling prices. On the other hand, 4 makers posted lower consolidated recurring profits except for Nippon Kinzoku. The makers gained inventory valuation profits in the first half of F2007 while inventory valuation loss in the second half. Nickel price roughly fluctuated while chrome price remarkably soared in 1H. In addition, stainless steel scrap and energy costs expanded and impacted their profits. Chrome price is expected to continue surging in F2008. Their profits will depend on the demand recovery for nickel series products and material costs in F2008.Nippon Yakin Kogyo announced the firm posted the consolidated sales at 248.7 billion yen for F2007, up by 27.6% year-on-year, the consolidated recurring profit at 29.3 billion yen, up by 22.7%, and the net profit at 17.5 billion yen, up by 14.6%. These settlements hit the records when the demand for high performance nickel series products was strong.Stainless product average price increased by 30% to 93,000 yen per tonne for Nippon Steel & Sumikin Stainless Steel in F2007 from F2006, by 30% to 122,000 yen for Nippon Metal Industry, by 44% to 561,000 yen for Nippon Yakin Kogyo and by 37% to 206,000 yen for Nippon Kinzoku.Stainless product sales volume decreased by 5% to 1.01 million tonnes for Nippon Steel & Sumikin Stainless Steel in F2007 from F2006, by 12% to 330,000 tonnes for Nippon Metal Industry, by 14% to 280,000 tonnes for Nippon Yakin Kogyo, by 15% to 30,000 tonnes for Takasago Tekko and by 10% to 560,000 tonnes for Nisshin Steel while increased by 1% to 40,000 tonnes for Nippon Kinzoku.