PLATTS: Japan's SDK on target for H1 2007 aluminium operating profit

Japanese manufacturer of metal and chemical products Showa Denko reached its operating profit target for its aluminium business in the first half of 2007 which ended June 2007, a spokesman for the company said on Tuesday. Showa Denko posted operating profit of Yen 4 billion ($3.4 million) for its aluminium segment, up 8.1% year on year and in line with its initial goal. Segment sales were Yen 128.6 billion, down 1.0% year on year due to the spinning off of a consolidated subsidiary Showa Light Metals in 2006. Showa Light Metals, that produces secondary aluminium alloys, generated Yen 12 billion sales in previous semesters. The aluminium earnings were up due to the metal trading around $200/mt higher on the London Metal Exchange this year compared with last year. In addition, SDK has implemented a system to automatically pass on the rise of the aluminium costs onto some products such as extrusion and cast products, which had limited losses. Production volumes were generally flat across products. Output of heat exchangers in the US and the Japanese plants edged up but that of its Czech plant dropped. Domestic production of extruded products for construction was down slightly, but the output of electronics components in Japan and overseas plants climbed up. Showa Denko's net consolidated profit was Yen 15 billion, up 0.1% year on year, on sales of Yen 485 billion, up 13.6%. The company projects net consolidated profit of Yen 33 billion on sales of Yen 1 trillion for the full year ending in December 2007.