Japan's Kobe Steel raised its net profit forecast for the current fiscal year to a record high of 120 billion yen ($839 million) on expected higher selling prices and lower fuel costs, it said on Tuesday.
The forecast was increased by 20 billion yen from the previous estimate and versus 72.5 billion yen in the last fiscal year's net profit posted by Kobe Steel, Japan's third-biggest steelmaker.
Lower procurement costs should offset the impact of delayed demand recovery in the IT and semiconductor sectors and weaker Japanese automobile manufacturers' overseas production as China's electric vehicle output rises, the company said.
On Tuesday, Kobe Steel said its net profit in the first quarter of the current fiscal year was up by 21 per cent to 25.4 billion yen.
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