CNOOC reports 56% rise in gas and oil revenue

CNOOC reports 56% rise in gas and oil revenue

HONGKONG: Chinese energy giant CNOOC Ltd. said Friday its
quarterly oil and gas revenue had risen 56 percent on the same
period last year following strong domestic demand and
contributions from its Indonesian assets.

Unaudited revenue for the three months to the end of September
soared to 6.79 billion yuan (US$818 million) from 4.34 billion
yuan a year earlier, the Hongkong-listed firm said a statement.

China's major offshore oil and gas producer said oil and gas
revenue for the nine months to September rose 18.1 percent year-
on-year to 16.42 billion yuan.

In the third quarter, total production increased by 47 percent
year-on-year to 382,409 barrels of oil equivalents per day.

Total production for the first nine months rose 27.4 percent
year-on-year to 332,634 boe per day, it said.

The company's average realized price for crude oil rose to
$25.21 per barrel from $24.59 in the previous year. -- AFP

Troubled Isuzu pulls U.S. production, forecasts loss

TOKYO: Japan's embattled Isuzu Motors Ltd. warned Friday it
would lose 170 billion yen (US$1.4 billion) in the year to March
as it pulls out of U.S. vehicle production and cuts jobs under a
major reform drive.

The expected group net loss reverses a previous forecast of
three billion yen in profit due to estimated extra losses of 91.0
billion yen from a shake-up of the truckmaker's North American
operations.

Isuzu anticipates 22.0 billion yen in losses from slashing
payrolls and a 3.0 billion-yen charge from withdrawing from its
domestic recreational vehicle business, the company said in a
statement.

Isuzu forecast a recurring loss of 7.0 billion yen for the
year, a turnaround of the earlier forecast of 11 billion yen in
profit. Its sales projection was lowered to 1,270 billion yen
from 1,370 billion yen. -- AFP

Corporate overhaul pushes NEC back into profit

TOKYO: Japanese hi-tech giant NEC Corp. said Friday it jumped
back into the black in the six months to September thanks to
strict cost cuts and restructuring efforts.

The firm's group net profit swung to 1.0 billion yen (US$8
million) from a loss of 29.9 billion yen a year earlier. Its pre-
tax profit recovered to 20.4 billion yen from a 34.3 billion yen
loss previously, but revenue slid to 2.17 trillion yen from 2.47
trillion yen.

"(NEC returned to profit) due to the implementation of
restructuring measures in the previous fiscal year that
effectively reduced fixed expenses and promoted cost reductions,"
the firm said in a statement.

Last year to March, NEC shed 16,000 jobs worldwide mostly in
the semiconductor division in a frantic bit to turn around its
loss-making operations.

As a result, losses from affiliated semiconductor firms
decreased by 1.7 billion yen over the past six months to 9.8
billion yen. -- AFP

Toshiba losses shrink in H1

TOKYO: Japan's Toshiba Corp. said Friday its group net loss
shrank to 26.4 billion yen (US$213 million) in the first half
from 123.1 billion yen a year ago thanks to cost-cutting efforts
and healthy sales.

But the hi-tech giant warned of economic uncertainties ahead,
and kept its full-year profit forecast unchanged, while
downgrading its sales outlook.

Toshiba's pre-tax loss narrowed to 43.8 billion yen in the six
months to September from 196.6 billion yen previously. Its
revenue rose five percent to 2.6 trillion yen.

"The results reflect solid recovery led by recent initiatives
taken by management, including business restructuring and closely
focused portfolio management," Toshiba said in a statement.

The company said in April it expected 180 billion yen in cost
reductions in the current fiscal year through 11,000 job cuts and
restructuring. -- AFP

Creative reports smaller loss in Q1

SINGAPORE: Creative Technology, the world's biggest maker of
computer sound cards, narrowed its net loss to US$5 million for
the first quarter to September from $12.8 million a year ago, the
company said Friday.

Sales in the first quarter rose to $160.6 million in the
September quarter, up from $180.4 million for the same period in
the previous year, Creative said in a statement.

Creative, which is also listed on Nasdaq, said a strong
performance from its personal digital entertainment and
communications product categories bolstered the company's first
quarter performance.

"We came in at the top end of our revenue guidance with solid
sales performance in a very tough economic climate," said Craig
McHugh, president of Creative Labs Inc, the U.S. subsidiary of
the company." he said. -- AFP

Amazon.com narrows loss to US$35 million

WASHINGTON: Internet retail leader Amazon.com said Thursday
its quarterly net loss narrowed to US$35 million from a $170
million loss in the same period a year ago.

According to pro forma figures which include interest
expenses, the Internet retailer managed to post a small profit of
$400,000.

This is significantly better than First Call/Thomson Financial
consensus, which called for a loss per share of four cents.

Sales, up 33 percent to $851 million, also beat the consensus
of $809 million and the company's own guidance of $780 to $830
million.

"We've lowered prices five times over the last 15 months, and
simply put, it's working," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of
Amazon.com. -- AFP