Nippon Steel swung to a net profit of ¥263.0bn in the six months to September 2026, from a ¥113.4bn loss a year earlier, according to its half-year securities report. Two items sit inside that swing: a ¥96.1bn tax benefit booked this half and a ¥230.4bn business-exit loss in the prior-year half.
Overseas up, domestic down
Revenue rose to ¥5.84tn from ¥4.64tn, and business profit, the company's own operating measure, rose to ¥307.4bn from ¥227.5bn. The steel segment earned ¥276.6bn, against ¥201.8bn.
The report splits the steel business in two. Domestic operations stayed under pressure: the company says the timing of passing further raw-material and fuel cost increases into prices is delayed in some contract-priced sales, and typhoons and heavy rain added to the strain. Overseas, it says the acquisition of United States Steel Corporation is working and that the unit is the segment's main earner. Group profit still rose despite weaker domestic margins, which the company attributes to the overseas turnaround and inventory valuation gains. The report gives no profit figure for U.S. Steel alone for the current half. The prior-year half includes U.S. Steel only from the June 18, 2025 acquisition date, so year-on-year growth is not like for like.
What sits inside the net figure
Pre-tax profit was ¥247.0bn, against a pre-tax loss of ¥30.1bn. Income tax was a ¥32.1bn credit, against a ¥68.8bn charge a year earlier. The report says a consolidated subsidiary was certified in July 2026 for an Arkansas Recycling Tax Credit. That led it to recognise a deferred tax asset and cut income tax expense by ¥96.1bn. Earlier Tokyo Brief coverage is here: Earlier Tokyo Brief coverage.
The prior-year half carried a ¥230.4bn business-exit loss. It covered the share transfer of NS Kote, Inc., the holding company for the company's stake in the AM/NS Calvert joint venture, which makes steel sheet in the United States.
U.S. projects: planned totals and payments to date
The report adds three capital projects at U.S. Steel units. The largest is a direct-reduced-iron plant at Big River Steel in Arkansas, planned at $1.9bn with $124mn paid so far, to be funded from own funds and borrowings. A fourth project, a new hot-strip mill at U.S. Steel's Mon Valley works, was approved by the U.S. Steel board on October 5, 2026, at about $3bn. The report gives no paid amount or funding for it.
| Project | Planned spend | Paid so far | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| Big River Steel, Arkansas: direct-reduced-iron plant (2.27mn t/yr) | $1.9bn | $124mn | Fiscal 2028, fourth quarter |
| Fairfield Tubular Operations, Alabama: steel pipe heat-treatment line (290,000 t/yr) | $475mn | $13mn | Fiscal 2028, third quarter |
| U.S. Steel Košice, Slovakia: electric arc furnace and oxygen plant (1.6mn t/yr, furnace plan) | €900mn | €46mn | Fiscal 2029, fourth quarter (electric arc furnace only) |
| Mon Valley works: new hot-strip mill (about 3.18mn t/yr) | About $3bn | Not stated | Operation in late 2029 |
The report states paid-to-date amounts of $124mn for Big River, $13mn for the Fairfield Tubular Operations heat-treatment line and €46mn for Košice. The Slovak unit, U.S. Steel Košice, was renamed Nippon Steel Slovakia s.r.o. on October 1, 2026.
Separately, Nippon Steel guaranteed $1.2bn of bonds that U.S. Steel issued on July 14, 2026, and a $2.1bn short-term credit line signed the same day with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and others. The report gives the stated purpose as optimising funding terms. Both guarantees run until the guaranteed obligations are extinguished.
Group interest-bearing debt reached ¥5.44tn, up from ¥5.17tn at the end of March 2026. The debt-to-equity ratio was 0.94 times, or 0.73 times after crediting subordinated debt as part equity. Free cash flow was an outflow of ¥233.3bn, after ¥585.9bn spent on property, plant and intangible assets.