Nippon Steel 9-month profit slides 18%, says no surety U.S. Steel deal will close (updated)

Kobe Steel

06/02/2025 07:00

(Adds details of results, comment on U.S. Steel deal)
       TOKYO, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Nippon Steel  5401.T , Japan's
biggest steelmaker, posted on Thursday an 18% drop in nine-month
net profit to 362 billion yen ($2.4 billion) amid sluggish steel
demand in Japan and overseas.
    On its bid for U.S. Steel  X.N  - which was blocked last
month by then U.S. President Joe Biden, Nippon Steel said that
there can be no guarantee that the transaction will close.
Together with U.S. Steel, it filed a number of lawsuits
challenging Biden's decision.
    Nippon Steel kept its net profit forecast for the fiscal
year ending in March unchanged at 310 billion yen.    
    "Increase in exports due to the expanded structural
supply/demand gap in China continues to cause global spreads
weakness," Nippon Steel said. "There is no prospect of
improvement in real demand and margins at home and abroad."
    Nippon Steel said on Thursday it planned to sell all 10.7
million shares in holds in Kobe Steel  5406.T , with the latter
expected to do the same with all 6.7 million Nippon Steel shares
it owns.    
 ($1 = 152.4600 yen)

 (Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Himani Sarkar and
Muralikumar Anantharaman)
 ((jekaterina.golubkova@thomsonreuters.com;))