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Kobe Steel to increase capital investments 77% in fiscal 2006

April 25, 2006

TOKYO, April 25, 2006-Kobe Steel, Ltd. plans capital investments of 110 billion yen in fiscal 2006, ending March 31, 2007, up 77% from the estimated 62 billion yen in fiscal 2005.

Most of the investments will be in the Iron & Steel segment and the Aluminum and Copper segment. The projects are focused on remodeling a blast furnace for the stable production of steel products and improving the manufacturing capabilities for "Only One" upper-end products to increase the competitiveness of the company. Other investments will cover labor-savings and necessary repairs and maintenance work.

Construction costs and outlays (parent only)
(in billions of yen) FY2005 (estimated) FY2006 (planned) % of change
Construction costs
Iron & Steel only
62
43
110
84
77%
95%
Outlays
Iron & Steel only
54
38
88
63
63%
66%
Depreciation
Iron & Steel only
52
35
57
41
 
Note: Iron & Steel segment figures are a subset of each category.

FY2006 Investments by segment (parent only, construction cost basis)
(in billions of yen) FY2005 (estimated) FY2006 (planned)
Iron & Steel 43 84
Aluminum & Copper 10 14
Others 9 12
Total 62 110


Main projects
The main projects for fiscal 2006 are as follows:

Iron & Steel Segment
Kakogawa Works  
Project: Refurbishing of No. 2 blast furnace
Products: Steel sheet, plate, wire rod
Amount in FY2006: 35 billion yen
Total investment: 40 billion yen
Construction period: September 2004-March 2007

Kobe Works  
Project: New construction of No. 5 continuous caster
Products: Specialty steel
Amount in FY2006: 3.9 billion yen
Total investment: 8.5 billion yen
Construction period: April 2004-August 2006

Kobe Works  
Project: Upgrading of Bar Mill to improve product quality and inspection
Products: Specialty steel
Amount in FY2006: 1 billion yen
Total investment: 1 billion yen
Construction period: November 2005-March 2007

Aluminum & Copper Segment

Moka Plant  
Project: Upgrading of No. 1 cold rolling mill to increase rolling speed
Products: Aluminum sheet
Amount in FY2006: 700 million yen
Total investment: 1.4 billion yen
Construction period: April 2005-February 2007

Moka Plants  
Project: Switchover to city gas
Products: Aluminum flat products
Amount in FY2006: 800 million yen
Total investment: 800 million yen
Construction period: April 2006-January 2007

Chofu Plant:
Project: Upgrading of cold temper rolling mill
Products: Copper sheet
Amount in FY2006: 300 million yen
Total investment: 1.8 billion yen
Construction period: October 2005-April 2007


Reference Information

Capital investment in previous 10 years (in billions of yen)
Fiscal years Construction costs Outlays Depreciation
1996 66.0 76.0 76.8
1997 57.0 47.0 76.1
1998 77.0 69.0 74.1
1999 56.0 69.0 71.8
2000 57.0 40.0 69.2
2001 43.9 51.3 65.7
2002 24.0 25.0 61.4
2003 35.8 33.1 56.5
2004 46.2 35.3 54.8
2005 (estimated) 62.0 54.0 52.0
2006 (planned) 110.0 88.0 57.0