TMM LOSSES WIDEN FOLLOWING DISPOSAL CHARGE
Transportacion Maritima Mexicana, the Mexican group that
owns a share of Americana Ships, reported a net loss of $134 million for the first half of
the year, compared to a deficit of $1 million in the year-earlier period.
The larger loss was due mainly to a one-time non-recurring charge of
$126 million "created for possible losses on assets to be disposed."
The company’s operating profit dropped to $3 million, from $25 million
in the first half of last year.
Revenue decreased by 13 percent, to $405 million, from $463 million in
the same period of 1998.
TMM said that its share of Americana Ships’s gross profit for the first
half of the year was $9 million and its participation in the joint venture’s revenue was
$251 million.