Japanese bulker owner NS United Kaiun has slumped to a loss in the first half of the year in tough bulker markets.

The shipping company posted a deficit of JPY 65m ($0.6m) in the six months to the end of September against earnings of JPY 2.59bn in 2015.

Its revenue slipped to JPY 59.77bn against JPY 72.37bn.

For the current year, NS United is expecting lower profit of JPY 2.9bn,