Bridgestone Revises Profit Forecast

According to newly released non-consolidated financial projections for the 2007 fiscal year January 1 to December 31), Bridgestone’s management expects net sales and operating income to increase over the projections the company announced on February 20, 2007 due in part to the weaker-than-expected Japanese yen against the US dollar and the euro. Net sales have been revised to 1,020,000 million yen (£4.138 billion), up 5.2 per cent on the previously anticipated 970,000 million yen figure.

Bridgestone management also expects an increase in ordinary income and net income over the projections announced on February 20, again due in part to exchange rates, combined with dividend revenue from subsidiary shares due to the reorganisation of some of the company’s domestic subsidiaries. The latest projections for ordinary income put it at 105,000 million yen (£426 million) for the 2007 year, 19.3 per cent higher than expected in February. Net income is anticipated to be 73,000 million yen (£296 million), 25.9 per cent higher than the previous estimate and 18.7 per cent above the 2006 year result of 61,552 million yen (£249.7 million).

The yen is currently trading at approximately 123 to the dollar and 166 to the euro, a significant deviation from the company’s February assumption of a respective exchange rate of 110 and 140 yen against these two currencies.