Fiber optics maker Furukawa Electric Co. said Monday it posted a group net loss of 101.54 billion yen in the fiscal first half, primarily due to hefty appraisal losses linked to subsidiaries in the United States.
The figure marks a striking reversal from the group net profit of 22.46 billion yen recorded in the first half of fiscal 2001.
Group sales for the April-September period dropped 13 percent on a year-on-year basis to 334.07 billion yen, company officials said.
The firm logged a group operating loss of 32.3 billion yen, having chalked up a net profit of 13.53 billion yen a year ago.
Furukawa officials blamed the company's poor showing on an ongoing slump in the information technology, which forced it to log an extraordinary loss and write down 46 billion yen in valuation losses incurred by its U.S. optical fiber investments.
These items offset gains made via cost-cutting efforts, they added.
For the full year through March, the firm expects to generate a group net loss of 128.2 billion yen on revenues of 700 billion yen, officials said.
In fiscal 2001, Furukawa logged a net loss of 3.38 billion yen and a pretax profit of 7.64 billion yen on sales of 771.41 billion yen.