Nippon Steel Corp. forecasts a consolidated net loss of 45 billion yen for fiscal 2002 after absorbing losses of 142 billion yen, including one-time costs for restructuring a subsidiary, the world's third-largest steel maker said Thursday.

In its previous earnings forecast issued on Nov. 21, the firm predicted a net profit of 25 billion yen on revenue of 2.66 trillion yen. The steel maker posted a net loss of 28.4 billion yen in fiscal 2001.

The company also announced it will acquire all the outstanding shares of its financially troubled subsidiary Nippon Steel Chemical Co. on July 29.

Including loss provisions and the cost of restructuring Nippon Steel Chemical, the steel maker was hit with an 84 billion yen one-time loss.

"We decided to dispose of as many risk factors as possible during this fiscal year," said Tetsuo Seki, vice president and chief financial officer of Nippon Steel.

It also booked an appraisal loss of 42 billion yen on its stock holdings, which mainly consist of bank shares. Nonetheless, the firm said it will accept Mizuho Holdings Inc.'s request to purchase its planned new shares but did not provide specific figures.

In its core steel business, the firm said it expects solid growth for the current fiscal year, which ends March 31. It upwardly revised its forecasts for consolidated operating profits by 5 billion yen to 130 billion yen and for sales by 40 billion yen to 2.7 trillion yen.

It attributed the higher estimates to strong overseas demand, especially in China and Southeast Asia, and its cost-cutting efforts. It expects steel shipments during fiscal 2002 to reach around 29.2 million tons, up some 2.9 million tons over the previous year.