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Nippon Steel announced a 95% year-on-year drop in profit for the 2025 fiscal year, driven by factors including domestic production accidents, a sluggish global steel market, and the impact of low-priced steel exports from China.
The company stated that repeated production disruptions at its Muroran Works in Hokkaido significantly weighed on full-year results. HCT780T+Z Hot dip galvanized steel , The plant faced a prolonged shutdown following a fire last December—occurring shortly after it had resumed normal operations in late November after repairs for a slag leakage incident in September. No casualties resulted from the incidents.
Nippon Steel reported that the consecutive shutdowns at the Hokkaido plant reduced the company's full-year business profit by approximately 50 billion yen (about US$317 million).
At the same time, the company is grappling with a global steel market that is deteriorating more severely than anticipated, with a surge in low-priced steel exports from China exerting significant pressure on the market.
Nevertheless, Nippon Steel is currently ramping up investment in the U.S. market, positioning it as the core of its long-term growth strategy.
Tadashi Imai, Representative Director, President, and COO, stated that the U.S. steel market is the largest in the world by a wide margin; current demand stands at approximately 150 million tons, with continued growth potential expected in the future.
Nippon Steel completed its $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel in June of this year and has pledged to invest an additional $11 billion-plus in the United States. HCT780T+Z Hot dip galvanized steel , Additionally, the U.S. government has secured a so-called "golden share," granting it veto power over certain major matters.
Although U.S. Steel posted an underlying operating loss of 5.6 billion yen (approximately $35.5 million) for the current fiscal year, Nippon Steel anticipates that the company will become a key source of profit for the group in the future. The company views overall demand in the U.S. market as stable, even as the volume of steel imports and exports declines.
Currently, U.S. Steel is advancing several upgrade projects, including a blast furnace overhaul and hot-rolling line upgrade at Gary Works, the installation of slag recovery equipment at Mon Valley Works, and the addition of a high-end threaded pipe production line at Fairfield Works.
Additionally, the company announced last month a $1.9 billion investment to build a direct reduced iron (DRI) plant at its Big River Works facility in Arkansas; the project is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2029.
Tadashi Imai stated that current and future investments in U.S. Steel are "necessary and effective," helping to enhance the subsidiary's corporate value. Nippon Steel has already begun introducing its own manufacturing technologies to U.S. Steel and is driving the development of new products.
He stated that there were "no concerns" regarding U.S. Steel's profitability.
Looking ahead, Nippon Steel projects its business profit for the 2026 fiscal year to reach 700 billion yen (approximately $4.4 billion), though this figure does not yet account for the impact of the situation in the Middle East. HCT780T+Z Hot dip galvanized steel , The company noted that while it is currently unable to fully assess the repercussions of the U.S.-Iran conflict, the Middle East has become a significant market for steel exports.
According to its financial report, U.S. Steel is expected to contribute over 100 billion yen in profit in the 2026 fiscal year. Nippon Steel's business profit for the 2025 fiscal year stood at 514.1 billion yen (approximately $3.3 billion).
