Japan Steel Companies Post 11.6% Lower Profit in Apr-Jun

Japanese steel companies’ recurring profit was 496.2 billion yen in April-June, which was 11.6% lower than same period of 2007, according to Ministry of Finance. The sales decreased by 0.7% to 5.366 trillion yen and the recurring profit on sales decreased by 1.2 percentage points to 9.2%. The capital expenditure decreased by 6.6% to 250.2 billion yen. The ministry announced on Friday Japanese companies in all industry sectors posted 15.394 trillion yen of recurring profit in April-June, which was 5.2% lower than same period of 2007. The sales deceased by 0.7% to 358.241 trillion yen and the recurring profit on sales decreased by 0.2 points to 4.3%. The capital expenditure decreased by 6.5% to 10.868 trillion yen. The manufacturers’ recurring profit decreased by 11.7% to 6.516 trillion yen in April-June from same period of 2007. The sales increased by 1.4% to 113.099 trillion yen and the recurring profit on sales decreased by 0.8 points to 5.8%. The capital expenditure increased by 1.4% to 4.587 trillion yen.