TOKYO: Japanese oil refiner Idemitsu Kosan Co said on Thursday it booked a special loss of ¥3.8 bil (RM151 mil) related to a remittance fraud at its chemicals unit in Hong Kong in the April-June quarter.
Idemitsu Chemicals (Hong Kong) Co Ltd, which distributes engineering plastics in Hong Kong and China, has filed a complaint with local police after finding that the fraud had been done by a third person, a spokesman at Idemitsu said.
The fund outflow was found in January, he said, but declined to give further details, saying authorities were investigating.
For the April-June quarter, Idemitsu booked a net loss of ¥81.3 bil due to ¥94.4 bil in inventory losses because of a slump in oil prices.
Weaker demand for gasoline and jet fuel amid coronavirus lockdowns added to the pressure, it said.
But Idemitsu is maintaining its net profit forecast of ¥5 bil for the year to next March.
“Demand for petroleum products had been recovering in June and July after a slump in April and May,” Yoshitaka Onuma, the general manager of the finance department, told a news conference.
“We expect the trend will continue, but there is also uncertainty as the number of new coronavirus infection cases is on the rise in Japan and across the globe,” he said.
The run rate at its refinery fell to 70% in the quarter from 87% in the last financial year ended March, but it picked up in July and is expected to improve further later this year, Onuma said. – Aug 6, 2020, Reuters
