TOKYO (Reuters) - Mazda Motor Corp <7261.T> reported a 4.8 percent rise in half-year operating profit on Friday as a weaker yen and cost cuts helped offset a cutback in shipments to North America, and it kept its full-year forecasts unchanged.
April-September operating profit at Mazda, owned one-third
by Ford Motor Co
First-half net profit rose 6.8 percent to 29.05 billion yen.
For the full year to the end of next March, the Hiroshima-based carmaker kept its projections for operating profit to rise 0.9 percent to 160 billion yen and net profit to grow 15 percent to 85 billion yen.
Consensus forecasts from 18 brokerages are for an operating profit of 167 billion yen and net profit of 88 billion yen.
Mazda's sales have gained momentum around the world largely on the success of the Mazda3/Axela compact car. Growth is set to continue with the recent launch of the remodeled Mazda2/Demio subcompact and the rollout of the new Mazda6/Atenza sedan in major markets.
With its factories humming along at full speed, Mazda expects its global sales to reach 1.35 million vehicles this business year, surpassing a record marked in 1990.
Mazda pulled back shipments to North America during the first half of the business year to reduce swollen inventories, but sales in the United States have risen by double-digit percentages in the last three months, aided by its two relatively new models -- the CX-7 and CX-9 -- in the fastest-growing crossover segment.
Shares of Mazda fell 13 percent in the calendar year to Thursday, faring worse than Tokyo's transport sub-index <.ITEQP.T>, which lost 7.1 percent.
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