Japan's Kobe Steel raises annual profit forecast to record $840 mln

Kobe Steel

08/08/2023 09:18

TOKYO, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Japan's Kobe Steel  5406.T 
raised its net profit forecast for the current fiscal year to a
record high of 120 billion yen ($839 million) on expected higher
selling prices and lower fuel costs, it said on Tuesday. 
    The forecast was increased by 20 billion yen from the
previous estimate and versus 72.5 billion yen in the last fiscal
year's net profit posted by Kobe Steel, Japan's third-biggest
steelmaker. 
    Lower procurement costs should offset the impact of delayed
demand recovery in the IT and semiconductor sectors and weaker
Japanese automobile manufacturers' overseas production as
China's electric vehicle output rises, the company said. 
    On Tuesday, Kobe Steel said its net profit in the first
quarter of the current fiscal year was up by 21% to 25.4 billion
yen.
    It said stronger steel metal spreads and lower coking coal
prices offset lower sales of steel and aluminium rolled
products.
    Its board of directors has decided to raise the dividend
payout ratio target to around 30% of net profit from 15% to 25%
now and to pay an interim dividend of 45 yen per share -
resulting in a 90 yen annual dividend for the 2023 fiscal year. 
    Nippon Steel  5401.T , Japan's top steelmaker, last week
posted a 23% drop in net profit in the first quarter of the
2023/2024 fiscal year, but raised its full-year forecast by 8%
on higher-than-expected margins as raw materials prices fell.   
($1 = 143.0200 yen)

 (Reporting by Katya Golubkova; editing by Barbara Lewis)
 ((ekaterina.golubkova@thomsonreuters.com;))