Mazda posts Q1 loss, cheers record China sales

Japan's Mazda Motor Corp. on Thursday posted a net loss of 21.52 billion yen (227 million dollars) in the first quarter but cheered glimmers of recovery in US demand and record sales in China.

The automaker went into the red for a third straight quarter amid the global downturn as consumer demand shrank and banks tightened auto loans.

Mazda suffered losses even as its major shareholder, Ford Motor, having narrowly avoided bankruptcy, returned to profit in the first quarter.

Mazda's net loss compared to a profit of about 15 billion yen in the same period last year. The company said it made an operating loss of 27.98 billion yen on revenue down 44.5 percent to 428.23 billion yen.

But Japan's fifth-largest automaker welcomed what it said were signs that US consumers may be tiptoeing back into the market, lured in part by government incentives to bolster their ailing automotive industries.

"We think that the American market has exited the temporary state of chaos," chief financial officer Kiyoshi Ozaki told a press conference.

"I have heard that clients are returning to dealerships. We expect demand to rebound, and we would like to seize that opportunity."

Global sales fell 26 percent from a year earlier to 263,000 vehicles in the first quarter, pulled down by the recession.

Demand fell 32 percent to 74,000 vehicles in North America and 37 percent to 59,000 in Europe, while Japan saw a 25 percent drop to 41,000 units.

However, Mazda said it posted record sales in China, which saw a jump of 27 percent to 41,000 units, buoyed in part by the launch of the mid-sized Mazda6.

Hoping to join its Japanese rivals and jump into the fray for hybrid vehicles, Mazda is reportedly looking to move forward to 2013 from 2015 the launch of its own hybrid, aiming to sell 100,000 units a year.

The carmaker is expected to announce a tie-up soon with Toyota Motor, which will supply core technology from the hybrid system used in its popular Prius cars, local media have reported.

Mazda left its forecast unchanged for the full financial year, predicting that it will make a net loss of 50 billion yen and an operating loss of 50 billion yen, as revenue drops 19.9 percent to 2.03 trillion yen.