The world's second biggest steelmaker Japan-based Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. (NSSMC) has announced its financial results for the first nine months ended December 31 of the financial year 2014-15, posting a net profit of JPY 153.6 billion ($1.3 billion), falling 20.3 percent year on year. In the given period, the company's net sales amounted to JPY 4.2 trillion ($35.6 billion), up 3.6 percent compared to the corresponding period of the previous year.
According to NSSMC, despite some seasonal increase from the civil engineering and construction sectors, overall steel demand in Japan remained generally flat due to the ongoing impact of the consumption tax hike in some manufacturing industry segments and other factors.
During the April-December period, NSSMC's steelmaking and steel fabrication segment recorded net sales of JPY 3.7 trillion ($31.4 billion), increasing by 2.82 percent year on year. Steel exports also continued to be flat supported by a gradual recovery in the global economy. In the international steel markets, a downtrend continued. In addition to a decline in the main raw material prices, steel demand in emerging countries showed signs of a slowdown, while Chinese and South Korean steelmakers continued their high level of production output.
Meanwhile, in the given period, NSSMC produced 35.85 million mt of crude steel, down 1.8 percent, while the company's steel product shipments amounted to 31.4 million mt, almost remaining unchanged, both year on year.