Japan's Eneos doubles profit forecast on higher oil prices, lower yen
TOKYO, Nov 10 (Reuters) - Japanese oil and metals giant Eneos Holdings Inc on Thursday doubled its full-year net profit estimate as higher oil prices and the yen's slide against the U.S. dollar boosted the value of its inventories.
Net profit is now seen at 330 billion yen ($2.3 billion) for the year to March 31, up from its May forecast of 170 billion yen and above the 253 billion yen mean estimate in a Refinitiv poll of eight analysts.
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"Without the inventory impact, our operating profit forecast remains unchanged as multiple troubles at our refineries eroded profits in the energy segment," President Takeshi Saito told a news conference.
The refinery run rate at Japan's biggest refiner was 78% in April-June and 77% in July-September as its three refineries faced glitches.
"We'll work together to restore earnings power by boosting the run rate as soon as possible, as stable operation of refineries is a key management foundation," Saito said.
Eneos, also a miner, cut the full-year production estimate for its Caserones copper mine in Chile to 130,000 tonnes from 152,000 tonnes due to heavy snow, but stuck to the operating profit forecast for its metals business thanks to a weaker yen.
For April-September, net profit rose 17.7% as the inventory gain offset a loss in the energy business, which was hit by fuel costs and weaker margins in petrochemical products.
Rival Idemitsu Kosan also raised its annual profit forecast on Tuesday by 16% due to higher prices of thermal coal and the yen's plunge.
Eneos owns a stake in two liquefied natural gas (LNG) companies in Malaysia, both majority owned by Petronas, and buys LNG from Malaysia LNG, which declared force majeure on supplies to its customers following a pipeline leak.
"There is no concern over the supply to Eneos," Saito said, saying Petronas President Tengku Taufik had given assurances that deliveries for October-March would be as planned.
($1 = 146.5100 yen) (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi Editing by Mark Potter)