Nisshinbo Holdings to halt domestic cotton output

JAPAN: Nisshinbo Holdings to halt domestic cotton output

Author: Michael Fitzpatrick | 12 November 2009

Japan textile producer Nisshinbo Holdings has announced it will cease production of cotton yarn in Japan by the end of fiscal 2010.

The company, which suffered a 90% drop in group pretax profit to around JPY600m (US$6.63m) in the April-September period, said it will move all cotton making operations overseas to improve earnings for its money-losing textile business.

Nisshinbo's textile business suffered a JPY2.7bn operating loss on sales of JPY67.6bn for the year ended 31 March, owing to sluggish global demand in the textile industry.

The Japanese factories had been famous for producing high value-added cloth, such as fabric for no-wrinkle shirts and flexible denims.

Nisshinbo said it will maintain its global capacity by transferring operations to two plants in Indonesia.

Sectors: Fibres & fabrics