Japan: Tepco registers $7.4 billion Q1 losses

[News_Editor]

Japan: Tepco registers $7.4 billion Q1 losses

2011-08-09 21:14:29 GMT+7 (ICT)

TOKYO (BNO NEWS) -- The Tokyo Electric Power Co., Inc.(TEPCO) on Tuesday announced losses of ¥571.7 billion ($7.4 billion) during the fiscal year's first quarter.

The company's operating revenues for the first quarter (from April 1 to June 30) represents a decrease of 7.2 percent compared to the previous year.

Losses are mostly due to restoration and compensation costs, as tens of thousands of Japanese nationals have been affected by the country's nuclear crisis after Tepco's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant suffered meltdowns in at least three of its reactors since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

Ordinary losses were ¥62.7 billion ($811.33 million), while restoration costs totaled to losses of ¥105.5 billion ($1.3 billion). In addition, estimated extraordinary losses of ¥397.7 billion ($5.1 billion) were due to compensation payments.

Meanwhile, the company's electricity sales during the period decreased 12.1 percent on a year-to-year basis, as electricity usage has suffered a general decrease.

On the revenues side, electricity industry sales revenues decreased 8.1 percent, as nationwide residents have cut down electricity consumption as requested by the government. Since the disaster, electricity shortages have been recurrent since several nuclear plants have been shut down, while others go through periodic checks.

In May, Tepco announced the resignation of its president Masataka Shimizu after the company registered a historic loss of ¥1.25 trillion ($15.3 billion) in the 2010 fiscal year, which is the biggest loss in history by a non-financial Japanese company.

Japan's nuclear crisis began since the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant was severely damaged on March 11 when a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and a subsequent tsunami devastated the country. The disaster disabled the cooling systems of the plant, and radioactive elements leaked into the sea and were later found in water, air and food products in some parts of Japan. Subsequent power shortages throughout the country have further complicated recovery efforts.

At least 23,482 people were killed, while 8,069 people remain missing. There are still more than 88,000 people who are staying in shelters in 21 prefectures around Japan.

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