TMM LOSSES WIDEN FOLLOWING DISPOSAL CHARGE

TMM LOSSES WIDEN FOLLOWING DISPOSAL CHARGE

   Transportacion Maritima Mexicana, the Mexican group that owns a share of Americana Ships, reported a net loss of $134 million for the first half of the year, compared to a deficit of $1 million in the year-earlier period.
    The larger loss was due mainly to a one-time non-recurring charge of $126 million "created for possible losses on assets to be disposed."
    The company’s operating profit dropped to $3 million, from $25 million in the first half of last year.
    Revenue decreased by 13 percent, to $405 million, from $463 million in the same period of 1998.
    TMM said that its share of Americana Ships’s gross profit for the first half of the year was $9 million and its participation in the joint venture’s revenue was $251 million.