Mazda, Mitsubishi rebound to quarterly profits

Mazda and Mitsubishi _ Japan's No. 4 and No. 5 automakers _ posted net profits for the January-March quarter, reversing losses from a year earlier thanks to cost-cutting and government stimulus measures that helped along a gradual global recovery.

Mazda Motor Corp. said Tuesday it notched a net profit of 9.9 billion yen ($105 million) for the fiscal fourth quarter after losing 100.4 billion yen a year earlier. That helped slash its full-year loss to 6.5 billion yen ($69 million) from a much bigger 71.5 billion yen in red ink the previous year.

The company said it expects a net profit of 5 billion yen for the current year through March 2011.

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