Reuters

UPDATE - Mazda profits surge, sees strong yen capping growth

Thursday May 13, 4:55 am ET

By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia auto correspondent





(Recasts with company, analyst comments, more details)

TOKYO, May 13 (Reuters) - Mazda Motor Corp (Tokyo:7261.T - News), Japan's fifth-largest auto maker, posted a 40 percent jump in profits on Thursday, driven by brisk demand in Europe, but it said the strong yen and higher material prices would cap growth this year.



"This year, we are expecting volume and revenue growth in all regions, and cost cuts will continue to be important," President and CEO Hisakazu Imaki told a news conference.



"But the currency picture is worsening and material costs are rising," he added.



Analysts dismissed the forecasts as typically conservative, saying Mazda should easily beat last year's results given its targeted 10 percent sales expansion worldwide and cautious currency assumptions.



"With sales volumes expected to rise this much, it shouldn't be a problem," said Mitsubishi Securities auto analyst Shotaro Noguchi, who expects operating profit to exceed the company's forecast by at least 10 billion yen this year.



Mazda projected a 0.2 percent fall in operating profit to 70 billion yen ($620 million) for the year to next March, hit by a negative impact of 28.5 billion yen from the strong yen. Analysts on average expect a profit of 74 billion, according to a survey by Reuters Research.



Mazda expects net profit to be flat at 34 billion yen.



It is assuming a transaction rate of 128 yen to the euro and 106 yen to the dollar for this year, compared with current levels of around 135 yen and 114 yen respectively.



After spending much of the last decade in the red, Mazda, owned one-third by Ford Motor Co (NYSE:F - News), has repaired its earnings by focusing on unique, value-added cars such as the RX-8 sports car and Atenza sports sedan.



That formula has turned Mazda into the fastest-growing brand in a tough West European market, and its success there is set to continue following the launch of the hot-selling Mazda3/Axela sports compact last October.



Imaki said Mazda would continue its product-led growth through at least two new models this year, based on the MX-Micro Sport and MX-Flexa concept cars, while achieving more cost savings through increased cooperation with Ford.



North America remains a weak spot for Mazda, with the region swinging into the red last year as marketing costs ballooned.



But Mazda noted that momentum was picking up in the United States, with sales up by double-digits for the last seven months despite a fall in spending on consumer incentives.



HIGHEST PROFIT IN A DECADE



Last year's operating profit was 70.17 billion yen, the highest in a decade. Net profit came to 33.90 billion yen, up 40 percent.



Revenue grew 23 percent to 2.916 trillion yen last year, thanks to robust sales in Europe, Australia and China.



Success in Europe, where Mazda sells about a fifth of its cars, has been a double boon as the buoyant euro raised the value of euro-based earnings. Unlike its domestic rivals, Mazda has a bigger exposure to the euro than to the dollar.



Mazda's overall performance compared favourably with that of rival Japanese car firms that have reported earnings so far.



First and second-ranked Toyota Motor Corp (Tokyo:7203.T - News) and Nissan Motor Co (Tokyo:7201.T - News) both reported smaller double-digit jumps in operating profit, while Honda Motor Co (Tokyo:7267.T - News) posted a 17 percent drop.



Embattled Mitsubishi Motors Corp (Tokyo:7211.T - News), which is due to report later this month, has forecast a big loss.



Shares in Mazda soared 61 percent during the 12-month reporting period, zooming past rivals' shares and the main Nikkei average (^N225 - News), which rose 41 percent.



They ended down 4.7 percent at 327 yen on Thursday, while the Nikkei fell nearly three percent. The results were announced at the end of morning trade.

attribute this to their current lineup..

seein a great deal of 6s and 3s on the road...

Go Mazda!



Now if we could just get them away from Ford...

The Protege 5 was a huge kick in the nuts for their competitors. Dealerships here were bringing in 2 truckloads a week to try to keep up. Always had 4 or 5 with new plates waiting for the new owners to come by and pick them up.



I think I saw the quarter the Protege 5 came out Mazda Canada sales went up 44%, while everybody else went down 10 - 15%.

yeah the p5 was very cool!

I think the 3 is totally awesome. They look so cool.

Mazda has some pretty crazy momentum (in the US market) going into summer. In april alone they sold 21,679 cars. That's led by the Mazda 3 with something like 7300 cars alone last month. The 6 comes up close too with somewhere around 5K cars in april too. As some of us know the RX-8 is slated for 30K yearly, well less than halfway through the year they've sold 8K. I think its possible.

the new three is really nice lookin.. i might go testdrive one soon

This is good news, new 7 come soon yay.

my contribution to the effort..

https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...DIR#>/wink.png



https://www.nopistons.com/forums/upl...1078773118.jpg



pics

concept mazdaspeed version of the 6...

heard to be 280hp AWD



more pics here

mazda6+280hp+awd=bimmerkiller

hell, the bottom lip there looks like an m3's https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...DIR#>/ohmy.png

It's awesome to see them doing well...even if it's still a little iffy here in the states. I think the recent changes to styling and performance are awesome. All the new models are sweet lookin and at the very least handle really well. I'm all for Ford being involved with Mazda as I think it gives the name some weight with the domestic crowd as well as TONS of racing heritage to build with. I was shocked the other day when my die-hard Ford lover friend told me he was looking at a new 6 for a daily driver so he can park the SC! Sweeeet! Zoom to tha mothafuggin Zoom!

the reason the 8 isnt selling well is because its not what the market is asking for right now. now if they were to have continue over with the 7 (yes i know it would have had to be the 8 cause the damn ford and ****) it would have been doing much better. the 8 is basically in the same market as the wrx and evo, and srt-4. it cant compete with that ****. now if it was a 7 with some balls, and they did some better advertisement on the god damned thigs they would have ended up selling more.

I think the Renisis holds possibility, but the RX8 in general i feel as a disappointment.

And try to keep the cost down so more people can enjoy them...

I see 2 8's for every 350Z I see, other than the 350Z Tracpac and ragtop in the underground parking where I live.





I think that's pretty damn good for a limited availability car.



Go to your local dealer, they've got 10 6's for every 8, but they can't really get in any more 8's.



On paper, a 6 is $32000, 4-doors, 200hp. 8 is $35000, 4-doors, 238hp. On paper there's not a lot of difference.

well, around here i see one 8 for every 50+ 350Z's. thats not an exaggeration at all. i see an 8 maybe once per month. maybe

i see 8's everywhere here?

mazda6s is in the mid 20s.. and 220hp

I live in Canada. Different money.



220hp makes them seem even more similar, yet obviously they aren't.

3's are all over up here.

seen two RX8's other than the one i test drove.

well mazda knew that the 8 didnt have the claimed hp. i remember seeing their ads like a month of so before the official release date. and where it said 250* HP mazda rx-8.





*250 as the targeted horsepower.



so i dunno whats up with that.

Thats because they hyped the hell out of the renisis and when showtime came the dyno proved a much different outcome. Thats why the magazines were all a buzz and the 8 lost alot of support.



Its a nice car, dont get me wrong, but i dont feel it, as a whole, earns the right to be an RX.

Yeah, but only retards hate a car because its 12hp less to the wheels than it says on paper. In japan, they knew. Did they give a ****? NO. West Germany? NO. Because the car STILL performs. And mazda offered 500 bucks and a lifetime of free oil changes for those who complain. Enough for a catback exhaust that gives you back those 12 lost ponies.



I hate north americans.

12 less?



people werent breaking 170 on the dyno at the wheels

Yea its a considerable difference. When i drove the RX8 it was smooth but it was like driving a minivan. It has a center of gravity that is too high, the rear feels top heavy to me.



The engine pulls but not like RX7 models. You would need a small turbo to make the RX8 feel like my 87 NA.



Wasnt impressed.

What i mean is that the RX8 did not seem to have the same power as the RX7's i have driven, including my NA. It was "quick" but it didnt have that get down and go feeling the others did.



Maybe it was me, but i felt like i was driving my 4cyl mustang with the ebrake on.

The RX-8 is too expensive for what it does.

Compared to what?

I say its expensive for what it doesnt do. Trans and Diff problems, weak engine in comparison to its predessors, etc.

I dont understand. The last N/A made how much power?



160hp? 250 is a huge jump from that without any 'power adders'



and the rx8 guys are finding that lost power easily by chipping the ecu...

Yes but its not making 250 from the factory. They are making a meak 30HP more on average than the NA. I'm not saying it doesnt have more power than the NA, BUT it doesnt feel as though it delivers it as well.

The other cars in its price range.

you guys are making asses of yourselves. like tyson said, compared to others in it's pricerange it is stomping all the competition. stop making the "ass dyno" the deciding factor here.

i didnt base my opinion fully on the dyno, if ya notice i based a fair amount of my opinion on actually driving the car.



eh whatever, im off to bed

You're point? I'm pretty good at that...



Err, anyways the thing is it fits in a weird category, people think of it as a sports car, buti ts kinda not. I dunno i'm confused.