Nippon Steel: closely watching auto output plans

TOKYO, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Nippon Steel Corp (5401.T) said on Monday the company would look at revising its production outlook after seeing Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and Honda Motor Co's (7267.T) first-quarter output plans due later this month.
"We are closely watching Toyota and Honda's production plans and we will review our plans then," Kiichiroh Masuda, Nippon Steel executive vice president, told Reuters in an interview.
"Depending on their plans, we may further reduce output after April, although we think the chance is small," Masuda said.
Nippon Steel, the world's second-biggest steelmaker, on Friday cut its profit outlook for the year to March by a bigger-than-expected 36 percent and said it would tumble to a loss in the January-March quarter as demand from cars to excavators falls amid the global recession.