STOLT-NIELSEN SEES LOWER 1ST-QUARTER LOSS

STOLT-NIELSEN SEES LOWER 1ST-QUARTER LOSS    Stolt-Nielsen S.A. on Wednesday reported a fiscal first-quarter loss of $3.7 million, compared to a loss of $8.2 million in the year earlier period.
   Adjusted for a $5.4-million non-recurring restructuring charge for Stolt Nielsen Transportation Group, the London-based company saw a first-quarter net income of $1.7 million.
   'Excluding the restructuring charges, the Stolt-Nielsen Transportation Group reported results on par with the first quarter of last year,' said Niels G. Stolt-Nielsen, chief executive officer of Stolt-Nielsen S.A.
   SNTG anticipates taking an additional $5 million in one-off restructuring costs throughout the remainder of the year, though it anticipates that cost savings from the program will offset most of this.
   The company, which provides transport services for bulk liquid chemicals, edible oils, acids and other specialty liquids, reported net operating revenue of $611.2 million, up from $542.0 million for the first quarter of 2001.
   Before the restructuring charge, Stolt-Nielsen reported an operating income of $28.9 million, down from $29.2 million for the year-earlier period. The slight decrease was due to the loss of income following the sale of SNTG's Chicago and Perth Amboy, N.J. terminal facilities.
Income from SNTG's parcel tanker division was $20.5 million for the first quarter of 2002, compared to $20.3 million in the year-earlier quarter. Contract volumes remained steady, but spot volumes were off, particularly in the commodity chemical and clean petroleum product markets. The company anticipates rates picking up in the second half of 2002 and throughout 2003.
   SNTG's tank container operating income improved to $4.7 million, from $2.7 million in the first quarter of last year. While shipment were flat, utilization improved to 71.1 percent, from 67.7 percent.
   SNTG's terminal division operating income was $3.6 million, down from $6.2 million, due to loss of income from the sale of the two terminals.
   Stolt-Nielsen anticipates second-quarter earnings of 5 to 15 cents per share, and maintains its projections of 85 cents to $1.15 in earnings for 2002.