September 07, 2008

Kobe outlook for 2008-09

Kobe steel looking at fiscal 2008 said that the world economy is anticipated to continue expanding, powered by growth in developing countries. However, attention must be paid on trends in the US economy and other factors and it is highly difficult to determine when the slowing domestic economy will improve.

Additional factors that will have a marked effect on Kobe Steel include the rapid rise in energy and raw material prices and the tight raw material situation. On this background, Kobe Steel's outlook for its steel business segments in fiscal 2008 is as follows

It said that “For steel products, demand is anticipated to continue being robust for high-grade steel used mainly in domestic manufacturing industries. Demand is expected to also be brisk for steel castings and forgings, titanium products and welding consumables. As a result, fiscal 2008 segment sales are forecast to be higher than in fiscal 2007.”

It added that “Due to the worldwide tight demand and supply situation for raw materials, Kobe Steel will strive to obtain the necessary quantity of raw materials to prevent interruptions in production and provide a stable supply of products. To cope with higher raw material costs, Kobe Steel intends to raise sales prices, as well as continue its efforts to maintain profitability and implement improvements by reducing costs and increasing production efficiency.”