Nippon Steel has projected a record Underlying Business Profit (BP (NYSE:BP)) of $840 billion for fiscal year 2023, in line with its Q1 FY2023 projections, despite anticipating a net profit drop. This comes after the company reported a record-high BP of $499 billion in H1 FY2023, exceeding initial forecasts by $69 billion. The steel giant's ambitious goals persist despite the Asian market's lowest-ever commodity-grade steel spreads hinting at a potential H2 FY2023 slowdown.
In H1 FY 2023-24, Nippon Steel reported a net profit of JPY 321.82 billion ($2.14 billion), down from JPY 394.71 billion in H1 FY 2022-23, even as net sales rose by 13.8% from JPY 3.87 trillion to JPY 4.41 trillion ($29.36 billion). The company's crude steel production and steel product shipments increased by 2.3% and 3% year-on-year to reach figures of 17.44 million metric tons and 16.17 million metric tons respectively.
Looking ahead, Nippon Steel projects H2 crude steel production at approximately 17.60 million metric tons, targeting a total of 35 million metric tons in FY 2023-24. However, it forecasts a net profit drop to JPY 420 billion for the full fiscal year, compared to JPY 694.01 billion in FY 2022-23.
In FY2022, Nippon Steel generated revenue of $7,975.5 billion and an Underlying BP of $734 billion, excluding inventory valuations. The non-consolidated crude steel production reached 34.25 metric tons and steel shipments totaled 31.47 metric tons.
Despite the forecasted net profit drop, Nippon Steel's robust strategies and resilience amidst economic challenges have led to strong performance in the first two quarters of FY2023, with revenues culminating in a combined total of $4,412.4 billion for H1 FY2023.
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