Auto parts makers rank high in Nikkei survey

Auto parts manufacturers in Japan placed high in the results of a study released in February. The study ranked publicly traded companies by the ratio of operating profits they derived from European operations from April to September 2008. Among the firms were third-ranked Calsonic Kansei Corp., which supplies car air conditioners and other equipment; sixth-ranked NGK Spark Plug Co., a maker of spark plugs and oxygen sensors; 17th-ranked Unipres Corp., a producer of vehicle body frames; 21st-ranked NTN Corp., a maker of constant velocity joints; and 35th-ranked Takata Corp., which supplies safety parts, such as seatbelts and airbags. Finished vehicles makers were also on the list, with Mazda Motor Corp. coming in 29th and Nissan Motor Co. placing 31st. Semiconductor maker NEC Electronics Corp. topped the list, with its ratio of reliance on European operations coming to an unusually high 102.3%, despite the company’s operating losses at its Japanese and U.S. operations. (February 23, 2009)