TOKYO: Nippon Steel Corp, the world's No.4 steelmaker, booked a 34 percent fall in April-December profit as exports tumbled and prices sagged on higher supplies, prompting it to cut its annual outlook by one-third.
The company, which will emerge as the world's No.2 steelmaker after a merger with Sumitomo Metal in October, recorded 124.16 billion yen ($1.61 billion) in recurring profit, which is pretax and before special items.
It trimmed its annual profit outlook to 120 billion yen only three months after it slashed the forecast by 22 percent to 180 billion yen in October.
That compares with a mean estimate of 170 billion yen in a poll of 20 analysts in ThomsonReuters I/B/E/S.
A shaky global economy and China's tight monetary policy dented demand in China, the world's top producer and consumer, while supply from bulked-up steelmakers in South Korea and China continued to increase, eroding prices.
Nippon Steel's share price has slipped 4.7 percent this year, moving in tandem with the broader Nikkei average.
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