Mitsubishi Materials to Improve Group’s Rolled Copper Business

Mitsubishi Materials announced on Friday the firm will enter partnership with the equity method affiliate, Mitsubishi Shindo and the subsidiary, Sambo Copper Alloy. They start the alliance talk as early as in a week after launch of joint task force. They try to improve production efficiency and cost competitiveness through share of production facilities and shuffle of production items. Mitsubishi Materials will control 51% of Mitsubishi Shindo combining the firm as the group. Mitsubishi Materials improves the copper fabrication business through closer tie-up with the group companies. Mitsubishi Shindo purchases copper cake and billet as raw materials of rolled copper products from Mitsubishi Materials group’s Onahama Smelting and Refining while Sambo Copper Alloy purchases the materials from Sakai plant of Mitsubishi Materials. Mitsubishi Shindo produces annual 55,000 tonnes of rolled copper products including sheet, strip and long products at Wakamatsu plant while Sambo Copper Alloy produces 117,000 tonnes of the products at headquarters plant in Sakai. Mitsubishi Shindo allocated new share to Mitsubishi Materials in November 2005 to expand double layered copper clad laminate and 6th phase of modernization of Wakayama plant. With the capital increase, Mitsubishi Materials increased the interest in Mitsubishi Shindo from 27.6% to 34.19%. Mitsubishi Materials will acquire more interest in Mitsubishi Shindo to more than 50%. Mitsubishi Materials tries to improve the rolled copper business through closer partnership with the subsidiaries including Sambo Copper Alloy, of which Mitsubishi Materials already controls 62%. Mitsubishi Materials posted 80.759 billion yen of consolidated recurring profit with 1.144 trillion yen of sales for the year ended March 2006. Mitsubishi Shindo posted 2.899 billion yen of recurring profit with 46.695 billion yen of sales for the year while Sambo Copper Alloy’s sales were 58.7 billion yen for the year ended December 2005.