Japan's Yaskawa cuts profit outlook again as trade woes hit China demand

YASKAWA Electric

10/01/2019 07:42

TOKYO, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Japanese automation equipment
maker Yaskawa Electric Corp  6506.T  on Thursday lowered its
annual operating profit outlook for the second time in three
months, as caution over the Sino-U.S. trade dispute dampened
Chinese manufacturers' investment appetite.
    Yaskawa, one of the world's biggest industrial robot
manufacturers, forecast profit at 53 billion yen ($491.74
million) for the year ending February, down 10 percent from the
previously estimated 59 billion yen.
    The ongoing trade dispute has turned smartphone and other
manufacturers in China cautious about investment, leading to a
steeper-than-expected fall in orders for servo motors, the
company said.
    The revised outlook missed the 56.92 billion yen average of
23 analyst estimates in a Refinitiv poll.
    The slowdown in automation equipment demand in China has
weighed on Yaskawa's share price, sending the stock down by 18
percent since the company first lowered its profit outlook on
Oct 10.
    
($1 = 107.7800 yen)

 (Reporting by Makiko Yamazaki; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
 ((Makiko.Yamazaki@thomsonreuters.com; 81-3-6441-1039;))