Union Tool Posts First Quarterly Loss

Union Tool, the world’s largest maker of cemented carbide drills for printed circuit boards, posted the first loss for December 2008-February 2009 quarter since the beginning of over-the-counter trading in 1989. The firm announced on Friday the consolidated operating loss was 233 million yen and the recurring loss was 458 million yen for the first quarter when the sales of PCB drill plunged due to the significant output reduction of electrical products.

Demand for PCB drill is at very lower level since November 2008 when the output reduction of digital products, cellular phone and personal computer. Union Tools’ sales also decreased for extra-fine products.

The firm forecasted the consolidated operating loss would be 1.085 billion yen for half-year ending May while the recurring loss would be 1.136 billion yen.