Japan Major 5 Rolled Copper Makers Post Better Results

Japanese major 5 rolled copper makers posted better results for April-December from same period of 2009 thanks to higher copper price and extremely hot summer. Their profitability was lower in October-December due to slower demand for automobile and electronics industries along with inventory adjustment by the users. They kept the full year outlook for fiscal 2010 ending in March 2011.

Furukawa Electric’s metals unit posted 2.099 billion yen of operating profit for April-December, which was 4.307 billion yen better than loss in the same period of 2009. The copper tube business was firm for air conditioner while the foil business was slower especially for electronics industry.

Dowa Holdings’ metal processing unit posted 3.882 billion yen of operating profit for April-December, which was 60% higher than same period of 2009. The sales increased by 10% thanks to higher demand for copper strip.

Brass bar makers’ results were also better in April-December from same period of 2009 due to higher copper price. San-Etsu Metals posted 18% higher operating profit at 2.648 billion yen. KITZ Corporation’s brass bar unit posted 463 million yen of operating profit as same period of 2009. Nippon Shindo posted 850 million yen of operating profit, which was 2.8 times of profit in the same period of 2009.