MITSUBISHI THIS week forecast a surprise profit in the year ahead despite falling into the red in the latest quarter, as it counts on cost cuts to offset a slide in global sales.
Its sales have plunged at alarming rates by 66 per cent in the key Russian market last quarter interrupting its progress towards sustained growth with the help of sister companies in the Mitsubishi group.
“Recovery is still going to take some time,” president Osamu Masuko told a news conference.
“My sense is that our profits will improve not on the back of a growth in sales volumes or revenue, but rather that the emergency cost-cutting measures we started taking last October will help us secure a net profit.”
Masuko added that Russia and Ukraine would no longer be one of Mitsubishi’s growth centres.
Instead, the automaker will rely more on markets such as Southeast Asia, Canada, Brazil, the Middle East and China.
Defying consensus forecasts predict an operating profit of 30 billion yen and net profit of 5 billion yen for the financial year to the end of next March.