OREANDA-NEWS. Sumitomo Corporation announced its consolidated results for the nine-month period ended December 31, 2013, prepared on the basis of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

"Profit for the period attributable to owners of the parent" totaled 180.5 billion yen, representing a decrease of 8.1 billion yen from the same period of the previous year. This decline was due mainly to one-off profits in the previous year.

"Basic profit," which excludes extraordinary gains and losses, totaled 171.6 billion yen, representing an increase of 18.6 billion yen.

During this period, consolidated profits were underpinned by the steady performance of the group's core businesses such as the tubular products business in North America, automobile financing business in Asia, leasing business, and media business. Meanwhile, certain businesses experienced a downtrend, such as the tire business in the U.S. and coal-mining projects in Australia, which were affected by declines in commodity prices.

With regard to "Free cash flow," net cash used totaled 132.7 billion yen. During this period, we made new investments, such as acquisition of Edgen Group, a U.S. based energy materials and pipe distributor, while core businesses performed well in generating cash.

"Total assets" stood at 8,525.4 billion yen at the period-end, up by 692.6 billion yen, due primarily to the yen's depreciation and the rise of listed stocks price.

The world economy is expected to grow gradually, driven by the U.S., Japan, and Asia, despite the current uncertainty in the economies of some emerging countries.

As far as full-year consolidated profits are concerned, one-off profits from business reorganization originally anticipated in the current second half are more likely to be realized next fiscal year or later. In addition, it remains possible that impairment losses on certain large projects will be incurred towards the fiscal year-end.

Despite the factors stated above, since each operating segment is expected to continue to demonstrate stable performance in the 4th quarter, we forecast that consolidated profits for the full year will be 240 billion yen.

Regarding detail information of "Consolidated Income" and "Segment Information," please refer to our Highlights and Consolidated Results.