24 Nov 2008
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., Japan's biggest bank, said first-half profit fell 64 percent as bad-loan costs rose and it took losses related to stock holdings.
Net income for the six months ended Sept. 30 dropped to 92 billion yen ($953 million) from 256.7 billion yen a year earlier, the bank said in a statement in Tokyo today. The result compares with a 100 billion yen preliminary figure announced Oct. 31.
Tokyo-based Mitsubishi UFJ recorded a 25 percent increase in bad-loan costs to 334.9 billion yen in the half-year period from a year earlier. The bank had 75.3 billion yen in stock-related losses.
Mitsubishi UFJ expects to post its smallest full-year profit in six years after stock markets tumbled and Japan entered a recession, fueling rising bad-loan costs and investment losses. The nation's five biggest lenders lowered their combined earnings estimates by more than $1 trillion in the past month.
Mitsubishi UFJ fell 6.7 percent to close at 546 yen in Tokyo trading before the earnings statement. The stock has dropped 48 percent this year, compared with a 47 percent decline in the 84- company Topix Banks Index.
Source:http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=2060110
