DJ Showa Denko: To Withdraw From Some Aluminium Operations

TOKYO, Aug 26, 2009 (Dow Jones Commodities News via Comtex) -- SHWDF | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Showa Denko KK (4004.TO) said Wednesday that it will withdraw from aluminium extrusion materials operations due to slack demand for housing starts and weakness in corporate capital outlays. The Japanese maker of petrochemical and electronics products said it will shut down the production line by the end of this year. It will also offer voluntary retirement to its workers at its domestic facilities but hasn't set any target for applications due to a cutback in its workforce via worker reallocation and natural attrition. The company will book a special loss of Y1.5 billion from the plant shutdown and the writeoff of these facilities for this fiscal year ending March 2010. It also expects a special loss of Y3.7 billion due to retirement allowance costs. But these losses have already been factored into its earnings outlook for this fiscal year.