Nippon Steel raises U.S. Steel profit forecast to $1.1B amid higher steel prices

Nippon Steel Corp. cited the upward trajectory of United States Steel Corp. as one of the reasons for a higher profit forecast for the world’s fourth-largest steelmaker.

Tokyo-based Nippon Steel reported a profit of 75.3 billion yen ($475 million) in the quarter ended June 30 after a loss of 195.83 billion yen ($1.2 billion) in the same quarter a year ago because of a sale of a joint venture. The reason for the swing: U.S. Steel. Nippon Steel called U.S. Steel “the primary earnings driver of the group” of its international operations.

That included 32.2 billion yen ($204.5 million) of business profit from U.S. Steel in the quarter, a little less than a third.