Japan's Hitachi logs plummeting 1st-half operating profit, raises outlook on China
Source: Xinhua | 2020-10-29
Japan's Hitachi Ltd. said Wednesday its operating profit stood at 180.79 billion yen (1.74 billion U.S. dollars) in the April-September period, plunging 39.2 percent from a year earlier, amid the COVID-19 pandemic that dented demand for construction machinery and metals.
However, the Japanese industrial conglomerate raised its outlook of operating profit for the full business year, as the demand for building infrastructure in China picks up.
According to the company, sales amounted to 3.76 trillion yen (35.88 billion dollars) in the fiscal first-half that ended Sept. 30, down 10.9 percent, due to the bleak demand for construction machinery in most markets except China and the faltering sales of auto-use metals.
For the full operating year, the company increased its operating profit projection to 400 billion yen (3.82 billion dollars) from an earlier forecast of 372 billion yen (3.55 billion dollars), with China's recovering demand for elevators.
Hitachi is stepping up restructuring efforts through selling non-core businesses as the COVID-19 pandemic adds more pressure on the group.
"We are studying many options," Hitachi Chief Financial Officer Yoshihiko Kawamura said during an online press conference.
The company is considering selling all or part of its Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. and Hitachi Metals Ltd. subsidiaries to concentrate more on its core businesses such as infrastructure and information technology, according to local media reports.
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