TMM SUFFERS 4Q, ANNUAL LOSSES

TMM SUFFERS 4Q, ANNUAL LOSSES    Grupo TMM, the Mexican multimodal group that owns the railroad TFM, suffered a deficit in both the fourth quarter of 2002 and the whole year ended Dec. 31.
   Group net result for the latest quarter was a loss of $12.4 million, as compared to a net profit of $1.6 million in the corresponding quarter of 2001.
   Grupo TMM said that the results “were primarily impacted by the direct and accounting effects of a 12.8 percent peso devaluation.”
   Group operating income also fell, to $41.2 million, from $47.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2001.
   Consolidated fourth quarter revenue was $255.7 million, marginally down from the consolidated revenue of $258.2 million for the same period of 2001.
Reduced revenue was reported in the latest quarter at the group’s TFM and Tex-Mex railroad businesses, and for its specialized maritime and logistics activities “due to sluggish trade growth, automotive sector revenue declines in transit and at outsourcing facilities, and from dry docking of some tanker vessels.”
   For the full year, Grupo TMM reported a net loss of $46.2 million, as compared to a net income of $8.9 million in 2001. The latest annual result was impacted primarily by the Mexican peso devaluation.
   Annual operating income decreased to $184 million, from $189.1 million, due to increased costs at ports and terminals for increased security and other factors.
   The company reported annual revenues of $1.01 billion for 2002, compared to $1 billion for 2001.
   Broken down by activity, Grupo TMM’s revenues for 2002 showed: a 2-percent fall in railroad revenue, to $712 million; a 3-percent increase in specialized maritime services revenue, to $123 million; a 12-percent jump in port revenue, to $113 million; and a 3-percent rise in logistics revenue, to $79 million.
   Specialized maritime services include the operation of supply ships and tankers.