Marubeni targets a net profit of over $4 billion in FY 2027/28

Marubeni, a Japanese trading company, said it aims to achieve a net profit in excess of 620 billion yen (about $4 billion) during fiscal 2027/2028. It also aims for a return on total shareholders of 40%.

The company reported a 14.5% increase in its April-December net income to 425.2 billion Japanese yen. It also revised its forecast for the full year to March, from an earlier guidance of 480 million yen.

Masumi Kakainoki, Chief Executive Officer of the company, said at a press conference that they would continue to increase their earnings in the U.S. through capturing domestic demand. She cited agricultural materials, mobility operations and supplying carmakers with equipment and machinery.

Marubeni's market capitalisation is expected to reach over 10 trillion yen by fiscal 2030/31. This represents a nearly three-fold increase from the current 3.8 trillion.

It said that it would buy back up 30 billion yen worth of shares, or 1.8%. The dividend was also raised by 5 yen per share to 95 yen.

China imposed tariffs Tuesday on certain U.S. goods in response to the new U.S. duties imposed on Chinese products, increasing tensions between two of the world's largest economies, even as President Donald Trump granted reprieves for Mexico and Canada.

Kakinoki stated that Trump's policies on tariffs, immigration and deregulation as well as corporate tax cuts would have a direct effect on his business.

He said, "But because most of our U.S. businesses target domestic demand...we can capitalise on its growth."

Kakinoki stated that Marubeni was interested in investing in U.S. assets in energy, due to the rich resources of the country, including shale gas and oil. He said that starting a new resource project would be difficult due to the risks involved.

Mitsubishi Corp., the company that led three of the consortia to win Japan's first off-shore wind auctions for 2021, announced on Monday it would be reviewing its domestic offshore business due to rising costs. This signals that Tokyo's plans for renewable energy are not immune from global trends.

Marubeni has secured the offshore wind farm development rights in 2024 in partnership with other companies.

Kakinoki stated that the team will be cautious in developing offshore wind projects. $1 = 153.3300 Japanese yen (Reporting and editing by Katya Obayashi, Muralikumar Aantharaman and Jane Merriman).

(source: Reuters)