Mazda 3Q profit jumps 7 percent

Mazda's profit jumped 7 percent in the October-December quarter as sales grew on the popularity of a remodeled compact and other vehicles in almost all regions, the Japanese automaker said Wednesday.

Fiscal third quarter profit at Mazda Motor Corp., an affiliate of Ford Motor Co., rose to 15.9 billion yen ($149.3 million) from 14.9 billion yen in the same quarter a year earlier.

Quarterly sales surged 11 percent to 850 billion yen ($7.98 billion) from 768.2 billion yen.

Vehicle sales grew in China, Russia and other emerging markets, as well as in Europe, North America and Japan, the Hiroshima-based manufacturer said.

The remodeled Mazda 2, known as Demio in Japan, has been a hit, it said.

Mazda, the nation's fifth-biggest automaker, is among the Japanese automakers that have reported strong earnings despite worries about a slowing North American market, stock volatility from the U.S. credit crisis and a rising yen that reduces income from overseas.

"Mazda is making steady progress toward achieving a seventh consecutive year of increased profits despite a more challenging external environment, including intensified sales competition," said Mazda Representative Director David Friedman.

Although the rise of incentives in North America has eroded some of the profit for the latest quarter, Mazda said strong growth in other markets offset such setbacks.

The absence of losses related to foreign exchange rates, which had hurt the previous fiscal year, also helped the latest results. And the alliance with Ford helped cut costs and other efforts that boosted the bottom line, Mazda said.

For the fiscal year ending March 31, Mazda kept its forecast at 85 billion yen ($798 million) profit on sales of 3.320 trillion yen ($31 billion).

For the first nine months of the fiscal year, Mazda raked in 45 billion yen ($422.5 million) in profit, up 7 percent on year. Its April-December sales rose 9 percent to 2.506 trillion yen ($23.53 billion).

Demand was robust in Australia for the Mazda CX-7 sport utility vehicle.

In China, sales nearly doubled from the previous year, although the small profit margins meant that had little positive effect on profitability, Mazda said.

Other markets also recorded strong sales, including Israel and Latin America, and Great Britain and Portugal reached record annual sales, it said.

Ford, which owns 33.4 percent of Mazda, lost $2.8 billion in the October-December quarter, and offered buyouts to its 54,000 U.S. hourly workers, made salary cuts and trimmed production.

Other Japanese automakers, which offer models with good mileage at a time when gas prices are skyrocketing, also posted strong results.

Toyota Motor Corp marked a 7.5 percent increase in profit for record fiscal third quarter earnings, while Nissan Motor Co.'s earnings climbed 26.6 percent. Honda Motor Co. reported a 38.1 percent jump in profit for the quarter.

Mazda shares fell 7.2 percent to 439 yen ($4.12) in Tokyo. Earnings were announced after trading ended.