Mitsubishi Heavy expects coronavirus to wipe out profit

Test flight for Japanese aerospace company's SpaceJet aircraft delayed

Mitsubishi Heavy's SpaceJet program has faced multiple delays as the company shifted from trying to develop a large passenger aircraft to a smaller one. (Photo Courtesy of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries)

MITSURU OBE, Nikkei staff writer

May 11, 2020 18:38 JST

TOKYO -- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries expects no profit this year, after the Japanese group's aviation business was hit by the novel coronavirus and plunging demand for air travel.

The company will just about break even for the year ending March 2021, Seiji Izumisawa, Mitsubishi Heavy's president, said Monday. It also fears another snag in its SpaceJet program after a U.S. flight test for the passenger jet was postponed by the coronavirus outbreak.