By Lily Bearings
©2004-2008
NTN Corp., the world¡¯s third- largest bearings maker, cut its full-year earnings forecast to a loss after recovery in demand for the components was weaker than expected.
Net loss is expected to be 3.5 billion yen ($39 million) in the year ending March 31, down from a previous estimate of a 500 million yen profit, Osaka-based NTN said today in a statement. The company posted a 5.86 billion yen loss in the nine months ended Dec. 31, while sales fell 26 percent to 323.9 billion yen in the period.
¡°Demand for cars and industrial machinery started to recover in the second half, but we had to revise our forecast because it didn¡¯t rebound as strongly as we expected it would,¡± Isamu Narita, a company spokesman, said today by telephone.
NTN closed 3.5 percent lower at 391 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The stock has fallen 6.2 percent this year, compared with 0.7 percent drop in benchmark Topix index.