OREANDA-NEWS. Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. reported a smaller net loss for the just-ended fiscal year than earlier projected, underscoring the favorable business environment caused by the yen's weakness.

The Tokyo-based company, a product of the Oct. 1 merger of the nation's biggest and third-biggest steel makers, said it generated a net loss of 124.57 billion yen for the fiscal year that ended March. The company previously expected a 140 billion yen net loss.

The firm said it swung into the red after logging a one-off loss related to an asset write-off.

"Domestic steel demand remained robust in the civil engineering and construction sectors, mainly in the case of reconstruction and disaster prevention projects, but demand in the automotive, shipbuilding, industrial machinery, and other manufacturing sectors declined," company said in its earnings release.

The company registered revenue of 4.389 trillion yen for last fiscal year and an operating profit of 20.11 billion yen.

For this fiscal year ending March, Nippon Steel said it wouldn't release its earnings forecast due to the difficulty of formulating accurate estimates at this time.