VISCAS Strengthens Cost Competitiveness to Gain Black in F2010

Tokyo based high voltage electric cable maker, VISCAS Corporation strengthens its cost competitiveness in fiscal 2010 starting in April when the company’s sales and profits are forecasted to decrease widely due to severe share competitions in Japan and overseas. VISCAS tries to sustain the black in fiscal 2010. VISCAS is a 50/50 joint venture between Furukawa Electric and Fujikura.

VISCAS estimates its net sales to exceed 80 billion yen and the net profit to reach record highest 3 billion yen in fiscal 2009 ending in March 2010. High-profitable cable shipment focused in the first half of fiscal 2009 mainly for the Middle East.

Meanwhile, the cable shipment volume is estimated to decrease by 10% or more from initially planned 30,000 tonnes of copper per year. Ichihara plant had kept almost full operation until December 2009 but the operating rate lowered to 75-80% in and after January. Ichihara plant mainly manufactures underground power transmission cables for export in Chiba, Japan.

At overseas, sales competition became much severer with South Korean cable makers. In the domestic market, VISCAS’s order receipt volume is likely to decrease in fiscal 2010 due to tough price competition.

The president Teruyoshi Tanabe explained VISCAS’s annual revenue might decline by 30% or more in fiscal 2010 from fiscal 2009. He said the firm has already started earnest cost down efforts to secure the black in fiscal 2010.