Japanese copper smelters' H1 output seen rising 4.2% y/y
04/04/2024 10:04
By Yuka Obayashi
TOKYO, April 4 (Reuters) - Japan's refined copper
production in the first half of the 2024/25 financial year is
expected to rise 4.2% from a year earlier, Reuters calculations
from plans outlined by smelters showed, amid stronger local
demand from the chip industry.
The financial first half falls between April and September.
Sumitomo Metal Mining (SMM) 5713.T expects a 21% surge in
first-half output following a two-month maintenance shutdown at
its Toyo Smelter & Refinery between September and November last
year, a company spokesperson said.
Japan's biggest copper supplier Pan Pacific Copper (PPC)
also expects a slight increase in its first-half supply due to
enhanced output capacity at the Hitachi Refinery in eastern
Japan, a company spokesperson said.
PPC, jointly owned by JX Metals, Mitsui Mining and Smelting
5706.T and Marubeni 8002.T , outsources smelting and refining
operations to its parent companies' plants. It procures raw
materials and sells the refined metals.
The company faced supply setbacks in the second half of the
last financial year due to boiler trouble at the Saganoseki
Smelter and Refinery in southern Japan, the spokesperson said.
In March, the Japan Copper and Brass Association projected a
5.9% increase in domestic demand for copper products in the
financial year just started, citing an expected recovery in the
automobile and chip industries that will drive demand for plates
and strips, copper tubes, and brass bars.
The Japan Electric Wire & Cable Makers' Association (JCMA)
has also forecast 2.0% growth in domestic copper wire shipments
in the current financial year, helped by a resurgence in the
semiconductor industry and robust export demand.
Below are the production plans of base metals in metric tons
for April to September by key suppliers PPC, Mitsubishi
Materials 5711.T , SMM, Furukawa 5715.T , Dowa Holdings
5714.T , Mitsui Mining and Smelting 5706.T , Nittetsu Mining
1515.T and Toho Zinc 5707.T .
The table shows comparisons against planned or estimated
production in the second half and actual output in metric tons
in the first half of the 2023/24 financial year that ended on
March 31, with year-on-year percentage changes for the first
half of 2024/25.
H1 H2 H1
FY2024/25 FY2023/24 FY2023/24 y/y
COPPER
Pan Pacific 312,300 290,100 308,300 1.3
Mitsubishi 224,094 211,710 220,182 1.8
SMM 227,000 191,616 187,484 21.1
Furukawa 23,300 23,302 24,961 -6.7
Dowa 3,747 4,167 16,632 -77.5
Nittetsu 24,776 24,605 24,907 -0.5
TOTAL 815,217 745,500 782,466 4.2
ZINC
Mitsui 104,600 114,100 103,700 0.9
Dowa 89,830 93,271 70,822 26.8
Toho Zinc 34,200 41,900 35,747 -4.3
TOTAL 228,630 249,271 210,269 8.7
LEAD
Toho Zinc 48,300 41,700 43,980 9.8
Mitsui 35,300 37,700 33,700 4.7
Mitsubishi 15,090 15,066 14,226 6.1
Dowa 4,116 6,121 5,183 -20.6
TOTAL 102,806 100,587 97,089 5.9
NICKEL
SMM 31,100 29,174 28,526 9.0
FERRONICKEL
SMM 2,100 1,955 2,945 -28.7
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Jan Harvey)
((Yuka.Obayashi@thomsonreuters.com; +813-4520-1265;))