Japan’s Asahi Kasei 9-month net income falls 18.8% on lower prices

SINGAPORE (ICIS)–Asahi Kasei’s net income fell by 18.8% year on year to yen (Y) 71.7bn ($608m) in the nine months ending 31 December 2015, weighed down by declines in market prices of its petrochemical products, the Japanese chemicals maker said on Thursday.

Its net sales in April-December slipped by 1.5% year on year to Y1,448bn, while operating income increased by 6.7% to Y126.6bn, the company said in a statement.

The company’s chemicals and fibres business posted a 10.6% year-on-year fall in sales in the nine months to December last year at Y651.4bn, but operating income was up by 21.5% at Y57.4bn.

While lower feedstocks costs and the weaker yen had a positive effect on earnings, the decline in market prices of products, notably acrylonitrile (ACN), offset the gains, Asahi Kasei said.

“In performance polymers, terms of trade improved due to lower feedstock costs, and shipments of synthetic rubber for fuel-efficient tires increased,” the company said.

Asahi Kasei expects its year-to-March 2016 net profit to fall by 14.9% to Y90bn, with net sales down 1.6% at Y1,954bn.

“The Japanese economy saw steady consumer spending along with firm corporate performance and capital expenditure, but uncertainty remained regarding the risk of further downturn in emerging economies,” it said.

($1 = Y117.9)