Daikin’s 1st-Qtr Profit Dives 28.6% Amid European Housing Market Woes

By Kyodo News International, Tokyo

Aug. 6–TOKYO — Major air conditioner maker Daikin Industries Ltd. said Wednesday its group net profit in the April-June period dived 28.6 percent from the previous year on a 1.6 percent sales fall stemming mainly from a slowdown in the housing market in some leading European economies.

In an earnings statement for the April-June quarter, Daikin said its net profit came to 18.90 billion yen on sales of 317.83 billion yen. Its pretax profit also dived 24.1 percent to 34.23 billion yen.

Daikin said its overseas business took hits particularly from dwindling sales in Italy, Spain and France, though domestic sales of household-use air conditioners leveled off with those for industrial use posting a year-on-year growth.

Looking ahead, Daikin forecasts its net and pretax profits for the first six months of fiscal 2008 to Sept. 30 will likely fall 9.5 percent and 9.4 percent to 43 billion yen and 67.5 billion yen, respectively, on a 0.9 percent fall in sales to 676 billion yen.

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Copyright (c) 2008, Kyodo News International, Tokyo

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