An LSEG poll of analysts had expected JFE Holdings to report 16.1 billion yen in quarterly net profit. The company recorded 27.5 billion yen in profit in the same period of last year.
It said its crude steel production for the period was 5.28 million metric tons, down from 5.48 million tons a year ago, while it also faced weaker export profitability and was hit by foreign exchange fluctuations.
JFE Holdings kept its profit forecast for the year ending next March unchanged at 75 billion yen.
In a separate statement on Monday, JFE said that, together with India's JSW Steel (JSTL.NS), it will invest 120 billion yen to expand production capacity at two plants in India.
The investment will increase output of cold rolled grain-oriented electrical steel - a specialised product used in transformers, generators and motors - to 350,000 tons per year.
One of the plants is set to start full production in 2027, and the other has current capacity of 50,000 tons annually.
The expansion aims to help satisfy rising demand from new power infrastructure, the growth of renewable energy use and an increase in the number of data centres in India, JFE said.
($1 = 147.8000 yen)
