MOL reported a small profit of JPY1.4bn ($13.6m) after losing $1.51bn in 2015 following JPY179.3bn in losses taken in the fourth quarter relating to the restructuring of its dry bulk and container shipping businesses.
For the first quarter of FY2016 revenues were JPY360bn compared to JPY449bn in the same period a year earlier.
The restructuring of its dry bulk business saw the division bounce back to a profit of JPY8.4bn in Q1 despite the extremely poor market conditions in the sector.
“In the dry bulker division overall, as we saw little chance of fundamental improvement in the market environment for the time being, we focused on reducing the fleet of capesize bulkers under spot operation and fundamentally redesigning our business model for the mid- and small-sized vessels,” MOL said.
“As a result, ordinary profit/loss improved year on year, and we reported black ink in ordinary income for the first three months of the fiscal year.”
The same could not be said for its container shipping business which saw losses widen to JPY11.6bn in Q1 compared to JPY5bn loss in the same period a year earlier.
Looking ahead MOL cut its full year profit forecast to JPY15bn for the year ended 31 March 2017, compared to a JPY20bn forecast previously.
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