Japanese Steel Makers Cutting Profits

Japan’s Nippon Steel Corp and JFE Steel Co, will likely cut their operating profit forecasts for this business year as demand from automakers and other customers plunges, Reuters reports. Both companies now face a decline of about 12% in group operating profit in the year to March, compared to a year earlier, according to the estimates.

Nippon Steel, the world’s second-biggest steelmaker, will likely lower its estimate to about 480 billion yen ($5.3 billion), down from its previous forecast in October of 540 billion yen. The world’s number-three steelmaker JFE Steel Co, a core steel unit of JFE Holdings, stepped up planned output cuts in the face of plunging demand and became the first Japanese player to shut a blast furnace as the downturn bites.