Last week, Mazda forecast a net loss of 100 billion yen (US$1.29 billion) for the fiscal year that ends March 31 and a 2 percent drop in its global sales, to 1.25 million units. This is the fourth year in a row than Mazda records negative results and it's also the company's second biggest loss in the last 11 years after the US$2.0 billion damage it posted in the previous fiscal year that ended in March 2011.
The tough economic conditions forced Mazda CEO, Takashi Yamanouchi, to admit that the automaker is “actively” seeking partners in order to overcome its financial difficulties. Yamanouchi added that raising capital is essential for Mazda, because if it fails to do so will result in possible downgrade.
One way is through the sale of more shares, which Yamanouchi didn’t rule out since he said that “we are considering every option”.
Among Japanese automakers, Mazda exports the greatest percentage of its vehicles. Therefore, the strength of the yen against the U.S. dollar, the Euro and other currencies has seriously diminished its profits from overseas sales.
In order to deal with this situation, Mazda, which is already producing the Mazda2 compact in Vietnam, is currently building a new plant in Mexico that will assemble the Mazda2 subcompact and Mazda3 compact models for the North and South American markets from 2013.
Most of the US$1.2 billion it received in 2009 by selling some of its shares were invested in developing new technologies such as the Skyactiv range of gasoline and diesel engines.
Yamanouchi hopes that the investment in the Skyactiv units was the right thing to do since the fuel-efficient engines may prove an attractive asset in its company’s bid to attract possible partners.
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