Yamato Kogyo Posts Better Results in 1H F2011

Yamato Kogyo announced on Friday the firm’s consolidated recurring profit increased by 62.4% to 7.475 billion yen in first half of fiscal 2011 started in April from same period of fiscal 2010. The net profit increased by 43.8% to 4.435 billion yen. The better results were partly due to contribution from Thai consolidated subsidiary and US equity method affiliate. The firm will pay 15 yen per share of mid-term dividend as a year earlier. Despite of the better results, the firm left the full year earning forecast unchanged as announced in July.

Domestic demand remains low after the major earthquake. However, Yamato Kogyo posted the recurring profit from domestic business for the first half of fiscal 2011 when the firm tried to meet the users’ demand carefully.

The firm posted the operating loss from South Korean business for the first half of 2011 when steel shipment and selling price decreased due to condominium construction slowdown. The firm posted the operating profit from Thai and US business despite of the slow demand when the sales price kept unchanged and production cost decreased in the areas.

The firm’s Thai consolidated subsidiary of Siam Yamato Steel, of which the plant in Mapthaput Industrial Estate is well away from rivers and around 200 kilometers away from Bangkok, had no direct damage from the flood. The joint venture in Bahrain, United Steel Company (Sulb) BSC builds direct reduced iron and H-beam making plant on schedule.