TOKYO -- Tokai Carbon sees a combination of cost cutting and price increases contributing roughly 4 billion yen ($36.6 million) to group operating profit over the two years through 2018.
The Japanese supplier of carbon and graphite products last year reduced capacity by about 40% at a Chinese plant producing carbon black, used to reinforce tires, and cut 100 jobs across the company. Besides trimming costs, Tokai Carbon raised prices July 1 on specialty graphite products used in semiconductor production for the first time since 2011. Prices of graphite electrodes are going up twice this year.
