Japanese cement and mineral products maker Ryukyu Cement Co in Okinawa, southern Japan, posted a net profit of 670 mln Japanese yen (U$6m/4.9 m euro) for the fiscal 2003/2004, ended 31 March 2004, down 14 per cent YoY, the company said on 2 June 2004.
Ryukyu Cement posted 1.27bn yen (US$11.4m/9.4m euro) in recurring profit, which is a pre-tax profit excluding extraordinary items, down 28.6 per cent. The company’s sales decreased 4.6 per cent to 10.38bn yen (US$93.8m/77m euro). The decreases both in sales and profits is due to the low retailing price of cement in Japan as a result of tough price competition. Ryukyu Cement sold a total 655,000t of cement, down four per cent.
The sales of the company’s cement department stood at 5.79bn yen (US$52.3m/42.9m euro), down 5.6 per cent. The sales of its mineral products department decreased 5.2 per cent to 1.56bn yen (US$14.1m/11.5m euro), following sluggish orders for building stones used in port construction. The company decreased its interest-bearing debts by 1.69bn yen (US$15.2m/12.5m
euro) to 4.46bn yen (US$40.3m/33m euro).
