Shares in Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd. fell more than 10% after the company announced lower income forecasts for the year, according to a Bloomberg.com report.
Sumitomo expects full-year net income to be 17 billion yen, 11 billion yen less than the company originally anticipated, said the report.
The drop in shares was the biggest share drop for Sumitomo since 1998.
In Sumitomo's recently published Review of Operations, company officials said they expect operating income "to decline due to continued increases in the prices of petroleum-based materials as well as price hikes in natural rubber since the end of 2005.
"Under these conditions, the (company) plans to step up cost-cutting measures, implement constructive sales promotions and shift to high value-added products."
