Ito En operating profit set to fall sharply
Ito En, the Japanese beverage manufacturer, is expected to announce a 46% drop in consolidated operating profit to about 10.3 billion yen ($108.7 million) for the fiscal year ending in April 30. Causes for the unexpected fall include higher materials costs, concerns about produce grown in China and weak consumer spending, which forced the company to sell more products at discounted rates. Overall sales are expected to remain unchanged at 328 billion yen ($3.45 billion) even though the firm had anticipated a 3 percent increase.