May 19, 2017 - Shinagawa Refractories Co., Ltd has announced results of financial year ending March 2017 (From April 2016 to March 2017). In this fiscal year, Shinagawa achieved the total sales of 103.722 billion yen, with an increase of 6.0% compared with the same period last year; Operating income increased to 6.344 billion yen, up 26.4% YoY; net profit reached 3.602 billion yen, with an increase of 28.8% YoY.

The increase in this fiscal year is mainly driven by the growth of steel production in Japan, mainly in:

Refractories and related products: driven by the growth of crude steel production in Japan, mold powder and ceramic fiber products sales increased strongly, pulled up the total sales reaching 753 billion yen, with an increase of 2.0%.

Engineering: driven by new coke blast furnace construction projects, engineering business revenue achieved a growth of 20.3%, to 26.110 billion yen.

The company released the economic expectations: from the Japan, the Tokyo Olympic Games will bring about a number of construction projects in the next three years, lifting the demand for refractory materials in Japan. However, form the international dimension, the increasing uncertainties of political factors in East Asia and the Middle East, the US trade protectionism, and the proximity of major countries' elections make it unclear to the future global economy. The company will focus on talent cultivation and training and the core equipment innovation to promote long-term development and maintain competitiveness.