GRUPO TMM POSTS $3.6-MILLION SECOND-QUARTER LOSS

GRUPO TMM POSTS $3.6-MILLION SECOND-QUARTER LOSS    Grupo TMM, the Mexican rail and transport group listed on the New York Stock Exchange, posted a net deficit of $3.6 million for the second quarter, as compared to a net income of $2.5 million in the corresponding quarter of 2001.
   TMM said that the $6.1-million decrease in net income resulted primarily from a devaluation of the Mexican Peso, which impacted both revenues on a monthly basis and receivables in the form of exchange loss during the quarter, amounting to $12.4 million.
   Revenues increased to $261.9 million in the latest quarter, from $253.7 million in the second quarter of 2001.
   TMM reported revenue growth from supply ship contracts in its specialized maritime division, from its ports division, and from its logistics division.
   TMM’s consolidated second quarter 2002 operating income increased $2.5 million, quarter-over-quarter, from $53.0 million in 2001 to $55.5 million in 2002. However, the operating results at the TMM group varied by division.
   TMM reported a $47.2-million operating income for the second quarter from TFM, its railroad affiliate, up from $43.6 million a year earlier.
   The operating income of the group’s port activities dropped to $8.6 million in the latest quarter, from $10.7 million in the year-earlier quarter.
   Logistics activities of    the group made an operating income of $755,000 in the second quarter, down from $1.3 million a year before.
   TMM said that its port storage revenue dropped, as Mexico’s Manzanillo port became more tied to transpacific shipments and less tied to South American destinations, which traditionally required more storage. The group also faced an increase in costs at ports to prepare for contract volume expansion announced in May at Manzanillo.