Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) will reduce debt for the first time in four years as profit rises on increased demand to ship electronics and furniture to the US and Europe, reported the Manila Bulletin.
Interest-bearing debt will drop to as low as US$9 billion by the end of March, said Shugo Aoto, head of finance.
MOL hasn't made a strategic investment this year and is focusing on strengthening its finances amid a global container shipping rebound, while Japanese rivals Nippon Yusen KK (NYK) and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha have purchased stakes in a deep-sea oil tanker business and a freight forwarder.
Profit is forecast to jump fivefold this year and MOL to use cash to pay maturing bonds.
“It's a better strategy than investing in a new field that they're not confident about,’’ said Ryota Himeno, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities in Tokyo. “They're accelerating their emphasis on constraining debt.’’
Interest-bearing debt will drop to as low as US$9 billion by the end of March, said Shugo Aoto, head of finance.
MOL hasn't made a strategic investment this year and is focusing on strengthening its finances amid a global container shipping rebound, while Japanese rivals Nippon Yusen KK (NYK) and Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha have purchased stakes in a deep-sea oil tanker business and a freight forwarder.
Profit is forecast to jump fivefold this year and MOL to use cash to pay maturing bonds.
“It's a better strategy than investing in a new field that they're not confident about,’’ said Ryota Himeno, an analyst at Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities in Tokyo. “They're accelerating their emphasis on constraining debt.’’