Japan's Itochu promises dividend increase amid conservative profit outlook
May 09, 2023 at 01:41 am EDT
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TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Itochu Corp posted a 2.4% fall in net profit for the fiscal year ended in March to 800.5 billion yen ($6 billion) on a weaker food business but promised higher dividends for the current year despite a conservative earnings forecast.
Japan's trading houses Marubeni Corp, Mitsui & Co and Sojitz posted a combined $13 billion in net profit for the year ended on March 31 as Russia's invasion of Ukraine lifted energy prices, but they warned that the new fiscal year will be weaker.
($1 = 135.0500 yen)
(Reporting by Katya Golubkova; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
Itochu Corporation is a diversified group organized around 8 areas of activity:
- distribution of food products (34.9% of net sales): frozen food, vegetable oil, sweeteners, sugars, etc.;
- distribution of hydrocarbons (23.3%): hydrocarbons (natural gas, oil products, bioethanol, etc.). The group also develops manufacturing of chemical products activity;
- manufacturing and sale of industrial and construction machines, vehicles and ships (9.7%);
- production of metals and coal (8.5%);
- sale of consumer products (8.4%). The group also develops forest products sale and real estate development activities;
- distribution of computing and telecommunication equipments (7%): data transmission, Internet access, media content broadcasting and mobile telephony equipments. The group also offers financial services;
- sale of textile products (3.6%);
- other (4.6%).
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: Japan (79.5%), Singapore (5.4%), the United States (4.5%), Australia (3.1%), China (2.8%) and other (4.7%).
ITOCHU CORPORATION 