Bloomberg reported that Mitsui & Company posted 70% drop in H1 profit after the global recession reduced oil and metals prices.

According to a statement to the Tokyo Stock Exchange, net income fell to JPY 72.8 billion in the 6 months ended September 30th 2009 from JPY 240.5 billion YoY.

Mitsui joins Mitsubishi Corporation, in posting lower earnings because of declining prices of oil and commodities like copper, iron ore, coal and nickel. Energy and metal resources generate more than half of the companies’ income.

Shares of Mitsui dropped as much as 1.5% after the announcement and traded at JPY 1,174 down 0.9% at 2:29 PM in Tokyo. The benchmark Topix index slipped 0.2%. Mitsui has gained 30% in 2009 outpacing the 2.3% increase in the Topix.

According to the statement, Mitsui maintained its full year profit forecast at JPY 120 billion. The average price for oil traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange in the 6 months to September 30th 2009 almost halved to USD 64.04 per barrel from USD 121.01 YoY while copper fell more than 30%.

(Sourced from Bloomberg)