Mizuno Corp. said Wednesday it incurred a consolidated net loss of 180 million yen in the first half of the 2002 business year, a reversal from a profit of 478 million yen a year earlier.

The maker of sporting goods blamed the result on sluggish personal consumption amid the prolonged economic slump, which weakened demand for its principal products, such as golf-club sets and sportswear.

The loss in the April-September period also resulted from a rise in extraordinary losses, including restructuring expenses and an increase in reserves for unrecoverable accounts, Mizuno said.

On a per-share basis, the loss amounted to 1.45 yen compared with a profit of 3.62 yen a year earlier.

Mizuno posted a consolidated pretax profit of 2.35 billion yen, up 32.6 percent, on a decrease in nonoperating expenses, although group sales decreased 3.2 percent to 72.12 billion yen.

The company said it will pay an interim dividend of 5 yen per share, unchanged from the first half of 2001.

For the business year through March, Mizuno forecasts a net loss of 1 billion yen, down from a loss of 7.1 billion yen in 2001.

The company also expects to post a pretax profit of 3 billion yen on sales of 142 billion yen, compared with the previous year's corresponding figures of 1.8 billion yen and 144.05 billion yen.

Mizuno plans to peg its full-year dividend at 10 yen per share for 2002.