April 30, 2008
| FY 2006 2nd half | FY 2007 1st half | FY 2007 2nd half | FY 2008 1st half | FY 2008 1st half production plan | ||
| Result (A) | Result (B) | Result (C) | Plan (D) | Over FY 2007 1st half (D/B) | Over FY 2007 2nd half (D/C) | |
| Total | 7,280 | 7,060 | 7,230 | 7,350 | 104% | 102% |
| Plate & strip | 3,850 | 3,560 | 4,050 | 4,050 | 114% | 100% |
| (Functional surface thereof) | 1,250 | 1,160 | 1,290 | 1,250 | 108% | 97% |
| Tube | 2,300 | 2,400 | 2,070 | 2,250 | 94% | 109% |
| Bar & wire | 1,130 | 1,100 | 1,110 | 1,050 | 95% | 95% |
| Unit: thousand m2/month | ||||||
| Copper foil | 6,400 | 6,900 | 7,200 | 7,600 | 110% | 106% |
Plate & Strip (including plated strip as a functional surface product)
Strip products as a whole performed very well in the second half of 2007.
The LF material for semiconductors showed in the second half of 2007 a high level of 126 % over the same half of the previous year, but recently it has entered somewhat into a correction phase. The connector materials rose rapidly last September, but it has sharply declined since the beginning of this year, remaining stagnant yet except those for certain products. Automotive materials have stayed at a high level centering on plated products, and are expected to keep this high level in the foreseeable near future.
Although recent orders for plates and strips excluding automotive materials have entered into a correction phase, the production plan has been set at 4050 ton --similar to that of the previous half-- since there remains a balance of order.
Tube
In the second half of 2007, the room-air conditioner market which accounts for a major demand for copper tubes showed an increase by shipments, but a decrease by productions, from the previous year. This has significantly influenced the total copper tube production, resulting in a level of 94 % over the same half of the previous year. A busy season of production is approaching, but the production amount in weight is planned to be lower (i.e., 94 %) than the previous year, since the copper tubes are decreasing in size every year.
Bar & Wire
Bar and wire products related with business investment are sluggish under the influence of the revision of the Building Standard Law.
In the second half of 2007, inventory sales products showed a slight increase due to a copper price decrease in November, but they became sluggish since mid-February due to a steep rise in copper price.
The inventory sales products of our Company include bus bar as a bar product, and FullAce as a wire product.
Copper Foil
The recent market has reduced momentum except for the NC-WS foil for lithium-ion batteries. In particular, the products related with FPCs and semiconductor packages remain mired.
As for the first half of 2008, in spite of its harsh situations in the first quarter, the market is expected to recover in the second quarter.