JAPAN: Kikkoman "posts fall in H1 profits"

By: just-food.com | 28 October 2008

Japanese soy sauce producer Kikkoman Corp. has reportedly posted a 13.5% drop in profit for the first half of its fiscal year.

For the six months to 30 September, the company's net income dropped to JPN5.04bn (US$52.9m) from JPN5.7bn for the comparable period in 2007.

Operating income decreased by 21.4% to JPN9.68bn from JPN11.2bn in the same period last year.

Net sales, however, reached JPN204.69bn, an increase of 6.9% from JPN202.73bn in 2007.

Last month, Kikkoman announced plans to set up a joint venture with Shijiazhuang Zhenji Brewing Group Co. in China's Hebei Province in a bid to take advantage of rising demand for premium foreign food in the country.

Facing shrinking demand at home, Kikkoman is boosting output in China as incomes rise and a growing middle class worries more about the quality of China's domestically made food.

Sectors: Commodities & ingredients