Mitsubishi Corp forecasts $2.8 bln hit to annual profit from COVID-19 (updated)

Lawson

13/08/2020 12:12

* Q1 profit falls 77%, sees 65% drop in FY2020/21 profit 
    * Automobiles, metals and LNG segments hit hard by COVID-19
    * No plans to boost its stake in Mitsubishi Motors

 (Adds details, quotes and rivals' forecasts)
    By Yuka Obayashi
    TOKYO, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Japanese trading house Mitsubishi
Corp  8058.T  said it had a difficult first quarter as net
profit plunged 77% due to the coronavirus pandemic, which it
said is likely to wipe 300 billion yen ($2.8 billion) off its
full-year profit.
    "We had a tough start due to the coronavirus pandemic, which
is said to be an unprecedented crisis," Mitsubishi Chief
Financial Officer Kazuyuki Masu told a news conference.
    Net profit fell to 36.7 billion yen in April-June, from
161.2 billion yen a year earlier, the company said, attributing
100 billion yen of the decline to the impact of the coronavirus
and the rest to one-off gains a year earlier among other
factors.
    The group said it expects its auto business, including the
contribution of Mitsubishi Motors  7211.T , to be in the red for
the full year and sees profit at its metals business dropping
70%.
    Mitsubishi forecast that its overall annual profit is set to
fall 63% to 200 billion yen, from 535 billion yen last year.
However, it kept its annual dividend forecast of 134 yen per
share.
    Around 300 billion yen of the annual decline in profit will
be due to the impact of the pandemic, it said, with automobile
and resources - which includes metals and liquefied natural gas
operations - each losing 120 billion yen.
    CFO Masu said Mitsubishi has no plan to boost its stake or
provide any financial support to ailing affiliate Mitsubishi
Motors, which in July forecast its second straight year of
losses, hurt by a plunge in sales due to the pandemic.
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2EY1RN 
    The trading house does, however, plan to shore up some other
loss-making group companies by the end of March, Masu said,
without elaborating.
    Mitsubishi follows rivals which have also presented weak
outlooks. Mitsui & Co  8031.T  and Itochu Corp  8001.T  kept
their May forecasts for 54% and 20% declines in annual profit
respectively. 
    Marubeni Corp  8002.T  also stuck to its May estimate of a
100 billion yen profit, a turnaround from a loss of 197.5
billion yen a year earlier, while Sumitomo Corp  8053.T  warned
of a record net loss of 150 billion yen.  urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2F917P
        
($1 = 106.6700 yen)

 (Reporting by Yuka Obayashi; Editing by Muralikumar
Anantharaman and Susan Fenton)
 ((Yuka.Obayashi@thomsonreuters.com; +813-4563-2761;))