Delays In Regional Jet Development Makes Mitsubishi Aircraft Corp Net Worth Turn Negative

Japanese Mitsubishi Aircraft posted a net loss of 51.1 billion yen ($454 million) at the end of March due to delays in the development of Japan’s regional jet.

The cumulative loss totalled 151 billion yen ($1.3 billion). The development costs are expected to reach 500 billion yen ($4.4 billion) about three times the initial estimate on account of delays and hiring of more engineers than initially planned, Mainchi reported Sunday.

The aircraft will be Japan's first domestically developed jet airliner.

The state-owned Development Bank of Japan owns a 1.0 percent stake in Mitsubishi Aircraft with Mitsubishi Heavy holding a 64 percent. Mitsubishi Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp. are among major shareholders of the aircraft company.

Mitsubishi Aircraft, in the midst of efforts to speed up development under the leadership of Mitsubishi Heavy President Shunichi Miyanaga, said its financial conditions will not affect the Mitsubishi Regional Jet project.

The aircraft company said earlier this year it will postpone the schedule for the first delivery by two years to the middle of 2020.

The company attributed the fifth delay since the launch of the business in 2008 to "revisions of certain systems and electrical configurations on the aircraft to meet the latest requirements for certification."