Mazda posts second-quarter loss, but helped by rebound in North America sales

Mazda Motor Corp on Thursday posted a 7.59 billion yen ($73.4 million) operating loss in the three months ended Sept 30 as sales contracted amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The loss, calculated by Reuters from the company's half-year result, compares with an 18.9 billion profit in the same quarter last year and a 45.3 billion yen loss in the first three months of the business year, which was its worst in quarter in 11 years.

Mazda posted a smaller loss in the second quarter after it benefited from a rebound in sales in North America, its biggest market. Vehicle sales there rose 1% from a year earlier.

Japan's No.5 automaker kept its full-year forecast for an operating loss of 40 billion yen. That is better than the average full-year estimate for a 53.3 billion yen operating loss from 17 analysts polled by Refinitiv.

For the full business year the maker of the CX-5 SUV crossover and Mazda3 sedan kept its full-year prediction for global vehicle sales to fall 8.5% to 1.3 million units, the lowest in seven years.