TOKYO - Hit by plunging sales in the United States and Japan,
Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (MMC) sank deeper into the red last year and projected another year of loss on Monday as it struggles to patch up its brand image.
While other Japanese auto makers are cruising past the competition overseas,
MMC is battling a tattered reputation from a high-profile series of recalls and arrests of former executives after it concealed safety-related defects from authorities.
The decades-long practice first came to light in 2000 and resurfaced last year when at least two road deaths were linked to hidden defects in trucks made by its then-unit Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp.
MMC's group net loss for the year to March 31 more than doubled to 474.79 billion yen ($4.39 billion) from 215.42 billion yen, in line with expectations, as restructuring costs and provisions for asset impairment charges rose.
Its operating loss widened to 128.54 billion yen from 96.85 billion yen, slightly better than a mean estimate of 135 billion yen in a survey of nine analysts by Reuters Estimates.
MMC, owned 13 percent by DaimlerChrysler AG, is
alone among Japanese car makers in posting a loss. Most domestic rivals, including Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co., Honda Motor Co. and Mazda Motor Corp., reported record-high earnings for 2004/05.
Revenues shrank 16 percent to 2.123 trillion yen as slight growth in Europe, helped by the new Colt compact car, and Southeast Asia were overwhelmed by a drop nearly everywhere else.
Global sales fell 14 percent to 1.313 million vehicles last year, with volumes in Japan plunging 37 percent to 227,000 units.
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