Japanese three’s first-half profits down

Japanese threeÆs first-half profits down    Japanese shipping groups NYK, “K” Line and MOL today all reported significant decreases in net profit in their half-year ended Sept 30.
   NYK, the largest of the three Japanese companies, posted a net income of Yen29.6 billion ($250.6 million), down 38.9 percent from Yen48.4 billion in the same period last year. Operating income dropped 41.5 percent to Yen47.1 billion ($399.8 million), from Yen80.5 billion. Group revenue improved 17.1 percent to Yen1.05 trillion ($8.9 billion).
   NYK posted an operating loss of Yen4.7 billion ($4 million) in the liner market, compared to a profit of Yen15.7 billion last year.
   'The freight market was largely solid. Meanwhile, efforts for freight-rate recovery did not reach levels in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal year, even in the Asia/Europe route, where recovery was most successfully achieved,' said NYK speaking of its liner performance.
   'Additionally, the freight market was still affected by low rates, which were prevalent from the end of last year to the beginning of this year. Further, sharply higher oil prices raised operating costs, and as a result, earnings on the liner trade largely underperformed in comparison with the corresponding period of the previous year,' NYK said.
   MOL's net income went down 22.5 percent in the first half to Yen47.7 billion ($404.9 billion), despite a 19.3 percent revenue gain to Yen759.5 billion ($6.4 billion).
   Net income at 'K' Line decreased 40 percent to Yen20.6 billion ($174.3 million) with revenue up 14 percent to Yen518 billion ($4.4 billion).