*NEWS*RICOH’S PROFITS HURT BY OIL PRICES?

[Anonymous]

Oil costs trimmed Japan trade surplus in June 
JULY , 2005
TOKYO Japan’s trade surplus shrank for a third consecutive month in June, the government said Thursday, as rising crude oil prices increased the cost of imports, and added to manufacturing costs in the Japanese economy.

 

The surplus fell 24 percent from a year earlier, to ¥873.1 billion, or $7.73 billion, the Ministry of Finance said.

 

Manufacturers like Ricoh, which makes office equipment, say record oil prices threaten to crimp their profits. “Our biggest concern is the impact of rising oil prices,” Masamitsu Sakurai, president of Ricoh, said in an interview on July 14.

[Author]

July 22, 2005 at 11:56 AM