Mitsubishi Motor Corp.’s operating profit slumped by 81 percent in the latest quarter, hit by falling sales, foreign exchange rate losses and costs from a fuel economy scandal.
Operating profit dipped to 8.4 billion yen ($72 million) in the Japanese automaker’s fiscal third quarter ended Dec. 31, from 43.6 billion yen ($373.5 million) a year earlier.
Net income fell 74 percent to 6.3 billion yen ($54 million) in the three months, Executive Vice President and CFO Koji Ikeya said, while announcing financial results on Tuesday.
Revenue slid 19 percent to 476.9 billion yen ($4.09 billion), as global retail sales declined 11 percent to 237,000 vehicles in the fiscal third quarter.
Mitsubishi’s operating profit was undercut by falling sales in every market except Japan, where volume only inched ahead, and North America, where sales remained flat from the year before.
Foreign exchange rate losses lopped 26.2 billion yen ($224.5 million) off the company’s quarterly operating profit.
Mitsubishi also took a charge 7.6 billion yen ($65.1 million) in the quarter to cover costs associated with improper fuel economy testing of vehicles sold in the domestic market.
Mitsubishi admitted last year to cheating on fuel-economy ratings for several nameplates sold in Japan. The scandal opened the door for Nissan Motor Co. to take a controlling 34 percent stake in its smaller Japanese rival last autumn.
Ikeya said Mitsubishi is already adopting some streamlined management strategies from its new alliance partner, which contributed positively to the third-quarter earnings, Automotive News reports.
