Japan's Nippon Steel Q1 net profit down 23% on sluggish steel demand

JFE Holdings

04/08/2023 07:19

TOKYO, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Nippon Steel  5401.T , Japan's
top steel producer, posted a 23.3% decrease in net profit in the
first quarter of the 2023/2024 fiscal year to 177 billion yen
($1.24 billion) on sluggish steel demand, it said on Friday. 
    Analysts surveyed by Refinitiv had forecast Nippon Steel's
net profit at 73.8 billion yen.  
    Its peer JFE Holdings  5411.T , Japan's second-biggest steel
producer, said this week its first-quarter net profit fell by
29% to 59.6 billion yen. 
    JFE has cut its full-year forecast of crude steel output to
24.6 million metric tons, from an earlier expected 25 million
metric tons, and said recovery in China's steel market could be
delayed until early next year. 
    
    ($1 = 142.4700 yen)

 (Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Tom Hogue)
 ((ekaterina.golubkova@thomsonreuters.com;))