Inpex Profit Surges, Toyota Outlook Unrevised

123jump.com Staff
08 Aug, 2008
New York City

Stocks in Japan edged higher for the day and for the week as crude oil drops and investors set aside worries of earnings of export companies. Toyota Motor reported a decline in earnings but left its annual earnings outlook unrevised. The oil refiner, Inpex Holdings net profit for the first quarter rose 29% from a year ago to 49 billion yen on 41% rise in sales. Shipping carriers fell more than 4% for the second day in a row after a drop in freight rate index.

[R]5:00AM New York, 7:00PM Tokyo - Toyota annual outlook and a drop in crude oil futures lifts benchmark indexes. Inpex profit rises 29%.[/R]

Japan stock indexes rose marginally after Toyota Motor Corp. maintained its full year earnings forecast.

Market Sentiment

In Tokyo trading Nikkei 225 increased 0.33% or 43.42 to 13,168.41, gaining 0.6% for the week, and the broader Topix Index dropped 0.1% or 1.12 to 1,259.93, falling 1% for the week.

In the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange 22 billion shares worth 2.5 trillion were traded and in the second section 206 million shares valued at 3.6 billion yen changed hands.

Of the Nikkei 225 stocks 95 rose, 118 declined, and 12 were unchanged. Mitsumi Electric Co led gainers in the index shares with a gain of 9.75% followed by Advantest Corp rising 7.07% after Mitsubishi UFJ upgraded the stock to “outperform”.

Toyota Motor Profit Falls 28%

Toyota Motor Corporation net income in the first quarter ended June 30 dropped the most in five years by 28.1% to 353.6 billion yen as net revenues declined 4.7% to 6.22 trillion yen from the same period a year ago.

A rising yen and the continued increase in raw material costs offset the 10 billion yen that was saved through cost reduction efforts by the company.

In the quarter, consolidated vehicle sales increased 24,000 units from a year ago to 2.19 million units, spurred by increase in sales in Japan by 12,000 units from a year earlier to 512,000 units.

Vehicle sales in North America and Europe declined 33,000 units to 729,000 units and 32,000 units to 301,000 units respectively. Though Toyota increased its market share in the U.S. to a record 17.4% in the quarter, the gradual shift in consumer preference from SUV’s to compact cars and the increase of provisions for bad debts led to a drop in profits. However, sales increased in Asia, Central and Southern America as well as Africa.

Toyota kept its consolidated revenues and earnings forecast for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009 at net revenues of 25 trillion yen and net income of 1.25 trillion yen.

Business Confidence Falls to 7-Year Low

The Cabinet Office reported today in the Economic Watchers Survey that business confidence among workers with jobs that are exposed to the changing economic environment fell the most in seven years in July on rising raw material and crude oil prices.

Gainers & Losers

Mitsumi Electric Co led advancers in the Nikkei 225 index shares with a rise of 9.75% followed by increases in Advantest Corp. of 7.07%, in Taisei Corp. of 6.15%, in Japan Tobacco of 5.53%, and Toyota Motor Corp. of 5.46%.

Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding led decliners in the Nikkei 225 index shares with a fall of 11.30 followed by losses in Alps Electric Co of 10.01%, in Konica Minolta of 7.94%, Showa Denko KK of 7.12%, and Nisshinbo Industries of 6.30%.

Shipping lines dropped as the Baltic Dry Index, which measures freight charges for raw materials, continued to fall. Mitsui OSK Lines plunged 5.88%, Kawasaki Kisen tumbled 3.47%, and Hitachi Zosen slumped 3.60%.

Inpex Profit Rises to 49 Billion Yen

Inpex Holdings reported today that net profit on the quarter ended June 30 rose 29% to 49 billion yen from 38 billion yen in the year ago period.

Consolidated net sales in the period increased 41.3% to 381 billion yen due to the increase in the sales price of crude oil and natural gas. The company forecasts that full-year profits will rise to 177 billion yen.