Tokyo Gas Co., Japan's largest natural gas distributor, forecast its first full-year loss since the end of World War II, saying the cost of importing the fuel may surge 51 percent.

The company may post a net loss of 7 billion yen ($65 million) in the year ending March 31, Tokyo Gas said in a statement today, reversing its April 25 forecast for net income of 50 billion yen. Sales may reach 1.8 trillion yen compared with its earlier projection of 1.71 trillion.

Tokyo Gas expects to pay a record 907 billion yen to import liquefied natural gas this year after crude oil prices reached an all-time high of $147.27 a barrel in New York on July 11. Net income fell 29 percent to 16.4 billion yen in the first quarter from a year earlier, the company said.

``With the recent surge in oil prices, we revised upward our LNG costs from our original projection of 730 billion yen,'' Hisashi Matsukura, general manager of Tokyo Gas's accounting department, said at a press conference in the Japanese capital.

Crude oil in New York gained 63 percent in a year and traded at $124.85 a barrel at 2:23 p.m. Tokyo time. Tokyo Gas shares fell 3.8 percent to close at 405 yen on the stock exchange. The stock has declined 23 percent in the past 12 months.

The loss would be Tokyo Gas's first since 1945.