Mitsui Mining & Smelting, Dowa Holdings to Post Loss for F2008

Mitsui Mining & Smelting announced on Tuesday the firm reduces 4,000 jobs to improve the cost. The firm also expands the executives’ pay cut to maximum 50% for April. The firm revised the annual results forecast downward to 27 billion yen of consolidated operating loss for the year ending March 2009 compared with 19.7 billion yen of profit previously. Dowa Holdings announced on the day the firm revised the forecast downward to 8 billion yen of operating loss for the full year from 22 billion yen of profit.

Mitsui Mining & Smelting reduces the group’s workforce by more than 20% from 18,800 by September 2009. The firm keeps halving the pay for executives until the performance recovery while the firm cut the pay by 5-10% since October 2008. The firm cuts the pay for manager class employees and union workers for the year to March 2010.

The firm expects severe financial results for the year to March 2009 due to plunge of metal market price and lower sales volume. The firm expects 35 billion yen of net loss compared with 5 billion yen of profit before.

Dowa Holdings also revised the outlook due to lower demand along with lower metal prices and higher yen rate. The firm expects 18 billion yen of net loss for the year to March 2009 from 12 billion yen profit of former forecast.