“K” LINE POSTS MIXED HALF-YEAR RESULTS

“K” LINE POSTS MIXED HALF-YEAR RESULTS

“K” LINE POSTS MIXED HALF-YEAR RESULTS

   Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Japan’s third largest shipping group, reported a fall in its operating income for the six-month period to Sept. 30, to 17 billion yen ($142 million), but the group’s consolidated net income increased six-fold, to Yen7.5 billion ($63 million).
   The half-year results compare with an operating income of Yen19.9 billion and net income of Yen1.2 billion in March/September of last year.
   Group consolidated revenues increased by 8 percent, to Yen297.8 billion ($2.5 billion), from Yen275 billion in March/September 2000.
   “K” Line has decided to omit payment of an interim dividend for the first half of its current fiscal year ending in March 2002 because of the current business environment.
   Commenting on the second half of its fiscal year, covering the period from October 2001 to March 2002, “K” Line warned that the global economy is forecast to continue its growth slowdown.
   “We are concerned that management circumstances will likely tend to be less favorable in every segment,” a spokesman for “K” Line said.
   For its container shipping segment, “K” Line said that it and Yang Ming, COSCO Container Lines and Hanjin Shipping/Senator Lines “are progressing on the path to form a new alliance.”
   The carrier described the proposed alliance as “a strategic tie-up
relationship.”
   “New services will be successfully implemented service route-by-service route,” it added, referring to the new alliance.
   “K” Line has lowered its profit targets, reversing a decision made last year to revise them upwards. “Containership freight levels fell more rapidly than anticipated, attributable to the continuing slowdown of the U.S. economy,” the company said. The Japanese group has also decided to abandon its former multi-annual “New ‘K’ Line Spirit for 21” management plan, and replace it by a new plan.
   The March/September results of Mitsui O.S.K. Lines and NYK — the other two large Japanese shipping groups — are expected to be announced in the next few days.