NSK Expects Euro Operations will Return to Profitability

NSK Ltd. (Japan) said it now expects its beleaguered European operations will be reporting their first profitable year since 1997. For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2004, NSK is now forecasting operating profits of up to ¥1.5 billion (USD $13.5 million), up from a loss of ¥1.9 billion in the past year. NSK credits its aggressive, ongoing restructuring effort in Europe, helped by strengthening demand for ball and roller bearings. The restructuring efforts, ongoing for several years, have gradually reduced NSK's exposure to the British Pound Sterling as it closes and reorients high-cost production locations to fewer facilities in lower-cost areas across the continent. Increased demand, the second factor helping NSK, has come from its traditional customer base of Japanese automakers. Those customers, such as Honda and Toyota, have been rapidly expanding their European operations, bringing with them more demand for locally-produced bearings from their existing supply chain.