Nippon Steel Warns of Full Year Loss after $1.3 Billion Q1 Shortfall

Reuters

16:55 JST, August 1, 2025

TOKYO (Reuters) — Nippon Steel revised on Friday its forecast for the full fiscal year to a ¥40 billion ($266 million) loss from ¥200 billion profit previously, partly due to costs related to its acquisition of U.S. Steel.

In June, Nippon Steel, Japan’s biggest steelmaker, closed its $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel after an 18-month struggle to obtain U.S. government approval for the deal, which faced scrutiny due to national security concerns.

Nippon Steel said that the full year results will be hit by a one-off loss tied to the U.S. Steel deal, in particular a loss of ¥231.5 billion related to the transfer of its 50% stake in joint venture AM/NS Calvert to partner ArcelorMittal, and some other factors.

On Friday, Nippon Steel posted ¥195.83 billion in losses for the three months to June 30, wider than analysts’ expectations.

An LSEG poll of analysts had expected Nippon Steel to post ¥25.7 billion in quarterly losses. A year earlier, it reported quarterly net profit of ¥157.56 billion.

Nippon Steel has also decided to conduct a stock split at a ratio of five shares for every one share effective from Oct. 1.

Last month, global rating agency S&P downgraded Nippon Steel to “BBB” from “BBB+” with a “negative” outlook, citing an increasing financial strain following the Japanese steelmaker’s acquisition of U.S. Steel.