NYK slashes profit projections

NYK slashes profit projections    Japanese ocean carrier NYK Line said Thursday it has revised downward its profit expectations for the fiscal year ending March 31.
   The carrier, which projected Jan. 30 that annual profits would total $744 million, on Thursday said that profits would be closer to $143 million for the current year.
   “As the economic slowdown focused on Europe and the U.S. has intensified, the liner trade has been impacted by falling freight volumes and a marked drop in freight rates, and bulk shipping has suffered a decline in numbers of voyages due to a dry bulk market slump and cooling demand for iron and steel,” NYK said in a statement.
   “NYK’s earnings, particularly in the liner trade and bulk shipping segments, have been weighed down as conditions in the dry bulk market have plummeted since summer 2008, and the effects of the financial crisis have markedly impacted the real economy.”