Eneos posted a 31% fall in the second-quarter net profit to Sept. 30 to 171.7 billion yen, but said its full-year result is expected to increase by 67% from last year. The company had earlier expected net profit for the year to be at 180 billion yen.
"We have raised a full-year operating profit estimate at oil and gas development segment due to a weaker yen and cost cutting," Eneos Holdings President Takeshi Saito told a news conference. Eneos forecast a 50 billion yen evaluation gain on its oil and petroleum products inventories to reflect the yen's depreciation and higher oil prices, he added. "While the company raised their outlook..., we think that Eneos' new FY3/24 guidance is very conservative," Jefferies analysts said in a note. Cosmo Energy Holdings, the country's third-biggest refiner, on Wednesday also raised its net profit forecast for the year ending in March 2024 to 78 billion yen, a 15% increase year-on-year and up from 55 billion yen it had forecast earlier, as the weaker yen boosts inventory valuation. Cosmo also its raised full-year dividend forecast to 300 yen per share from 250 yen, which includes interim dividend of 150 yen. Its second quarter net profit was 62% down to 36.1 billion yen year-on-year on weaker petroleum and oil development business.
($1 = 150.4800 yen)
(Reporting by Katya Golubkova and Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Kim Coghill)
