Mitsui To Post Special Loss of $126M

Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. will post a special loss of $126 million in the first half of 1999-2000 due to restructuring costs. At the same time, the company said it would also post a $26 million extraordinary profit in the half year to Sept. 30 on sales of part of its real-estate holdings and security of properties of a former warehouse in Osaka. Company officials said last month that it and Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd. have agreed to cooperate widely in shipbuilding to enhance their competitiveness against South Korean shipyards. The two major Japanese shipbuilders will tie up on design, material procurement and production in the aim of strengthening competitiveness by cutting costs and improving efficiency. Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding forecast in May that a parent current profit for 1999-2000 will be $23 million, up from 1998 result of $15 million.