Mazda profits go Zoom-Zoom! Is the auto recovery ready to take hold?
From the Detroit News:
Tokyo— Mazda’s second quarter profit surged more than 10-fold as car sales grew at home and abroad, offsetting the effects of a strong yen.
The Japanese automaker reported a profit of 7.62 billion yen ($94.4 million) for July-September today, up from 707 million yen the year before.
The Hiroshima-based manufacturer of the Miata roadster and RX-8 sportscar raised its profit forecast for the full year through March 2011 to 6 billion yen ($74.3 million).
Quarterly sales rose 3.1 percent to 579.66 billion yen ($7.18 billion).
Mazda Motor Corp. said it had strong sales in Japan, North America, China and Thailand, reflecting the popularity of models like the Mazda5 and Mazda2.
The outlook for the auto market remained cloudy in the U.S. and Europe, partly because of the appreciating yen, which can make Japanese exports more expensive.
