Tokyo, 13 August (Argus) — Japanese LPG firm Iwatani saw a sharp fall in profits from a year earlier for its April-June quarter mainly because of weaker sales.
Iwatani still posted a profit of ¥448mn ($5.7mn) for its fiscal first quarter, albeit down nearly 80pc compared with ¥2.1bn recorded a year earlier.
Operating profits for its LPG unit fell by 16.7pc to ¥1.5bn, while profitability for its other businesses such as industrial gas, basic materials and electronics was also weaker. Only Iwatani's food and agricultural businesses saw increased profitability during the quarter.
Japan's national energy saving measures because of its nuclear power shortfall and increased use of more efficient LPG appliances contributed to the lower LPG sales during the quarter, Iwatani said. Total LPG sales volumes during April-June fell by 6.6pc to 604,000t from 647,000t a year earlier, although sales revenues increased by 0.5pc to ¥63.2bn.
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