Ministop Braces for Net Loss of 6 B. Yen

Tokyo, Jan. 9 (Jiji Press)–Japanese convenience store chain Ministop Co. has said it now expects to log a consolidated net loss of 6 billion yen in the business year through February, against its previous forecast of a 70-million-yen profit. The downward revision was attributed to a temporary suspension of sales of handmade prepared foods, including “onigiri” rice balls, after a scandal involving falsified expiration dates came to light last August. Ministop now projects three consecutive years of red ink. In an earnings report released Thursday, the company also downgraded its operating balance projection to a loss of 3.5 billion yen from a profit of 1.2 billion yen. It is expected to book nearly 1.1 billion yen in expenses linked to preventing a recurrence of the scandal, such as enhancing surveillance of store kitchens and reviewing product labeling machines. Meanwhile, the company kept its sales forecast unchanged at 97 billion yen. Ministop resumed selling handmade prepared foods at some stores last October, aiming to resume sales at 700 outlets, or about 40 pct of all stores, by next month. “We will work to prevent a recurrence and supply safe and secure products from a medium- to long-term perspective,” Ministop President Masashi Hotta said in an online press conference. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]