Japan’s Nippon Steel has increased its revenue forecast for fiscal 2020, ending March 31, 2021, by 1pc to JPY 4.85tr ($46bn) from JPY 4.8tr. However, the guidance is still 18.1pc lower from revenue of JPY 5.9tr it achieved at the end of FY2019.
Crude steel
By the end of this fiscal, the Japanese steelmaker’s crude steel production is expected to drop to 37.80mn t (34.2mn mt), compared to a total output of 47.05mn t in FY2019, the company indicated in its Q3 2020 earnings report on Friday. Crude steel production in the first half of FY2020 dropped to 16.78mn t from 24.27mn t during the same period in the previous fiscal. In H2, this production is estimated to tally at 21mn t compared to 22.79mn t in H2 FY2019.
In the third quarter of FY2020 ending December 31, 2020, Nippon Steel’s crude steel output fell to 9.64mn t from 11.24mn t in Q3 FY2019.
Pig iron
The firm’s total pig iron production is projected to reach 33.2mn t in FY2020 compared to 42.57mn t in the previous fiscal. In H1 FY2020, its pig iron production declined to 14.82mn t from 21.93mn t in H1 FY2019. Pig iron output in the second half of FY2020 may reach 18.4mn t compared to 20.64mn t in H2 FY2019. Pig iron output in Q3 FY2020 dropped to 8.32mn t from 10.22mn t in the third quarter of the previous fiscal.
Steel shipments
The steel maker’s steel product shipment in FY2020 will drop to 31.2mn t compared to 38.7mn t in FY2019. In H1 FY2020 shipments declined to 14.46mn t from 19.86mn t in H1 FY2019 and are anticipated to fall to16.80mn t in the second half compared to 18.84mn t in H2 FY2019. Nippon’s steel shipment in Q3 FY2020 dropped to 7.93mn t from 9.46mn t in Q3 FY2019.
Nippon Steel’s revenue in Q3 FY2020 decreased by 22.9pc to JPY 3.4tr compared to JPY 4.4tr in Q3 FY2019. Its operating profit dropped to JPY 67.3bn from 372.5bn during the same period.
($1 = JPY105.38)