Hitachi said sales in the Middle East were unchanged

The Middle East is among a collection of stable markets for Hitachi as its overall profit fell by 30% in the first quarter of its fiscal year which ended on 30 June. 

The mining sector has provided a safe harbour for many manufacturers during the downturn but a series of incoming results reveal that a slowdown in the sector’s key markets of China, Indonesia and Australia has hurt their bottom lines.

Among them is Japan’s Hitachi which saw its revenues fall by 7% year-on-year to US$ 1.9 billion and its profit fall by 30% to $97 million. Also citing falling sales from the Indian construction market, the slump in mining activity in the Asian and Oceania countries contributed to sales of $560 million and drop off of 21% across the two region.

Conversely Hitachi seems to have defied the gloom that has surrounded the Chinese market over the past year and said that its revenues in the market had improved by 35% compared to Q1 2012 reaching $328 million in sales. The Japanese company said it was benefiting from China’s ongoing urbanisation programme.

Hitachi also seems to have navigated choppy conditions in the European market and identified eddies of demand in the regions that are experiencing an upturn in activity. It said its year-on-year revenues increased by 5.4% to $180 million.

It was less successful in North and South America where its business fell by 26% to $240 million, although there are signs of robustness in the US housing market.

Hitachi found calmer waters in the Middle East, Russia and the CIS, and Africa which collectively experienced unchanged revenues of $170 million.