Japan Nonferrous Metals Firms Post Higher Profit

Japanese nonferrous metals companies posted favorable financial results under firm demand and higher metal prices. Sumitomo Metal Mining and aluminium and copper unit of Kobe Steel posted record profit. Many other companies are expected to post record profit in the coming weeks. Mitsui Mining & Smelting and Sumitomo Metal Mining expect the lower profit for the year to March 2008 due to lower metal prices. Sumitomo Metal Mining and Mitsui Mining & Smelting renewed record recurring profit for 3 years in a row through the year to March 2007 with higher price of copper, zinc and nickel. Nippon Mining Holdings, Mitsubishi Materials and other smelters are expected to post record profit due to higher profit from offshore mines and electronic materials. Kobe Steel’s aluminium and copper unit and Hitachi Cable’s sophisticated materials unit renewed record profit for the year to March 2007. They enjoyed firm demand for automobile and semiconductor along with gain from inventory valuation for copper. Mitsubishi Shindoh, San-Etsu Metals and other rolled copper makers will post higher profit. However, they could reduce the profit for the year to March 2008 due to loss from inventory valuation of copper. Japanese light metal rerollers are expected to post record level profit for the year to March 2007 under firm demand. They also enjoy gain from inventory valuation of aluminium ingot. They could keep high level profit for the year to March 2008 depending on raw materials cost. Hitachi Cable expects lower profit for the year to March 2008 from previous year. Japanese electric wire makers expect they are suffered from loss of inventory valuation of copper despite of the firm demand for the products.