Japan's nuclear operator posts $711 million quarterly loss

Tokyo Electric Power Co (TEPCO) booked a net loss of 55.5 billion yen (711 million dollars) for the July-September quarter after carrying costs to deal with the ongoing nuclear crisis, the company said Friday. The figure compared to a net profit of 97.7 billion yen in the same period last year, the operator of the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station said.
TEPCO also reported an operating loss of 8.6 billion yen for the quarter, in a reversal from a year-earlier operating profit of 172.9 billion yen, the utility said. Sales fell 8 per cent to 1.37 trillion yen for the period from 1.49 trillion yen a year earlier, as a result of a drop in electricity production across the region, and nation-wide efforts to save energy.
The Fukushima plant has been out of operation since the March disaster, and several others were taken offline for precautionary inspections. TEPCO projected a net loss of 600 billion yen for the financial year through March 2012 as the company was struggling to bring the plant under control. The company also expected an operating loss of 305 billion yen for the year.
The plant suffered meltdowns at three reactors after it was crippled by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. It has been leaking radioactive material into the environment ever since. Tens of thousands of residents have been forced to leave the area. The government approved a request earlier in the day for some 900 billion yen (11.9 billion dollars) of aid by the operator, which faces claims from victims of the accident. The operator will be required to slash at least 2.5 trillion yen in costs over 10 years in order to receive the aid from a state-backed institution.