Japanese trading house Sumitomo Corp. on Thursday lowered its forecast for nickel output at its Ambatovy project in Madagascar to slightly above 40,000 tonnes in the year to March 31, below its projection in May of 48,000 tonnes.
Due to lower production amid bad weather and a slow ramp-up after a regular maintenance, Sumitomo now expects a loss of 13.6 billion yen ($120.47 million) from the Ambatovy project in the current year, against its earlier estimate of a 9.8 billion yen loss, Chief Financial Officer Koichi Takahata told a news conference.
Sumitomo owns a 47.67 percent stake in the project. ($1 = 112.8900 yen)
(Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)