(Corrects reference to iron ore production in paragraphs 7 & 9)
* April-Dec net profit grows 6 pct y/y to record 442 bln yen
* Books impairment losses on Olam, Chilean iron ore mines
* Keeps full-year profit forecast of record 640 bln yen
By Yuka ObayashiTOKYO, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Japan's biggest trading houseMitsubishi Corp on Tuesday posted a 6 percent rise inits April-December net profit thanks to higher income fromenergy operations, and stuck to its record profit forecast forthe year despite one-off losses.Mitsubishi's net profit grew to a record 442 billion yen
($4 billion) for the nine months to Dec. 31 from 416 billion yena year ago.The company booked an impairment loss of 28 billion yen onits stake in Singapore's Olam International and 31billion yen on its investment in iron ore mines in Chile in theOctober-December quarter, but it kept its forecast of a record640 billion yen profit for the year ending March.
"We have paid a premium for Olam as we had expected synergywith our operations, but the outcome has missed our target,"Mitsubishi Chief Financial Officer Kazuyuki Masu told a newsconference.But Mitsubishi, which owns a 17.4 percent stake in Olam, hasno plan to trim its stake in the Singaporean commodity traderand plans to seek more synergies in areas such as Africa, Masusaid.Olam said last month that it plans to invest $3.5 billioninto key growth areas, such as edible nuts, coffee and cocoa,over the next few years, while exiting four existing businessesto raise funds. As for the Chilean mines, Mitsubishi took the loss due to anextra environmental cost to build a tailing dam mainly for theLos Colorados mine and a repair cost for a broken shiploader ata port.
The port's loading operation has been stopped since thecollapse of the shiploader in November, Masu said.The three mines -- 25 percent owned by Mitsubishi and 75percent by Chilean iron ore and steel producer CAP SA -- produced 14 million tonnes of iron ore in 2018, according toa Mitsubishi spokesman.
Mitsubishi's annual profit prediction missed the 655 billionyen mean forecast in a poll of 9 analysts, according toRefinitiv.Its nine-month profit was only 69 percent of its full-yearestimate, but Masu said a special gain from its planned sale oftwo Australian thermal coal mines and stronger profits from somesegments are expected to fill the gap. Japanese trading companies have benefited from higher pricesfor commodities such as oil and coal, while their results alsoreflect healthy earnings in non-resource segments which theyhave strengthened since the last commodities down-cycle. ($1 = 109.9900 yen) (Reporting by Yuka ObayashiEditing by Muralikumar Anantharaman/Keith Weir)
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