Sumitomo Osaka Cement likely will report operating profit of around 17 billion yen ($142 million) for the nine months ended in December, up 11% year over year and a record for the April-December period.
Price drops for coal, a fuel for cement kilns, lifted profitability.
Sales are seen rising about 2% to around 176 billion yen as soft demand in Japan amid a construction worker shortage was offset by robust exports to elsewhere in Asia. Outside of cement, the Japanese company's sales were strong for lithium niobate modulators, which convert communications data, as well as for ingredients for sunscreens and parts for chip-building machines.
The company's high shipping costs in the year-earlier period due to problems with its cement storage facilities returned to normal, a boon to results.
Sumitomo Osaka Cement releases its nine-month earnings Feb. 9. It likely will maintain its full-year forecasts, looking to lift sales 2% to 240 billion yen and increase operating profit 8% to 24 billion yen.
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