Disposal
23 Abril 2003 - 2:30AM
UK Regulatory
RNS Number:2589K
Kobe Steel Ld
23 April 2003
NEWS RELEASE
Kobe Steel, Ltd.
Tokyo Stock Exchange No.5406
Kobe Steel sells company-owned property
TOKYO (April 23, 2003) - Kobe Steel, Ltd. announced today that it had
sold company-owned dormitories and apartments, which provide housing for
employees, to K&L Investment. The transfer price was 3.85 billion yen.
Kobe Steel has been making strong efforts to improve its financial position by
reducing its interest-bearing liabilities (debt). In the fiscal year ended
March 2003, Kobe Steel's consolidated debt is expected to be 970 billion yen,
down 25 percent from the year ended March 2000.
To help further reduce its debt, Kobe Steel decided to sell a portion of its
fixed assets. Following the asset transfer, Kobe Steel will lease back the
housing.
The transaction is anticipated to incur an extraordinary loss of 1.68 billion
yen. While using the housing units will result in leasing expenses, Kobe Steel
would be able to avoid the potential risk of lower land values and would benefit
from lower debt.
Media Contact:
Gary Tsuchida
Communication Center
Kobe Steel, Ltd.
9-12 Kita-Shinagawa 5-chome
Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-8688
Japan
Tel +81-3-5739-6010
Fax +81-3-5739-5971
E-mail www-admin@kobelco.co.jp
Investor Relations:
Corporate Planning Dept.
Tel +81-3-5739-6043
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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