MOL narrows Q1 loss

Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL) narrowed its first quarter loss, but poor bulker and tanker market conditions kept it in the red, Seatrade Asia online reports.

MOL reported a loss of JPY5bn ($64m) for the quarter ended 30 June, compared to a JPY8bn loss in the same period a year earlier. Revenues for the Japanese shipowner grew 8.5% in the first quarter to JPY378.8bn.

MOL noted that the capsize bulker market had been “stuck at bottom levels” and the VLCC tanker market was weak due to an oversupply of vessels.  “We recorded a loss in our business performance over the first quarter, despite making an improvement in our bottom line compared with the same period of the previous fiscal year,” the company said.