Sales in its construction machinery business grew 31.3% to JPY 174.8bn, compared to the same period last year, although the company does not separate out crane sales from hydraulic excavator sales, which it said was strong domestically and internationally.
Despite its recent business growth, the company was not wholly positive about the next six months to March 2008. In particular, it expects that China’s demand for construction equipment generally will “enter a slack period”, so Kobe Steel expects its sales to drop.
Kobe Steel produces steel products, aluminium and copper and machinery such as compressors, plastics processing machinery, pressure vessels and electronic materials, in addition to its excavators and cranes.
