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