Mitsubishi Motors Corporation

First-half FY25 net sales were JPY 1,261.3 billion, down 4% year over year. Operating profit was JPY 17.3 billion, down 81% year over year, and the operating margin fell 5.5 points to 1.4%. Ordinary profit was JPY 15.8 billion, and net loss was JPY 9.2 billion, driven mainly by a JPY 7 billion valuation loss on U.S. environmental credits and JPY 6 billion in losses from withdrawing from a China joint venture engine plant. Retail sales declined 6% year over year to 384,000 units. For the full year, management said it will maintain the profit plan in the August 27 revised forecast, lower net sales guidance to JPY 2.82 trillion, and keep the dividend at JPY 10 per share. It also said the impact of U.S. tariffs is estimated at JPY 32 billion, foreign exchange remains a JPY 51 billion negative impact on operating profit, and revised volume/mix is expected to add JPY 63.5 billion in profit versus the prior year, offset by JPY 32 billion of higher sales expense, JPY 24.3 billion of procurement/shipping cost pressure, and JPY 4.3 billion of improvement in other expenses.

Takao Kato said the industry faced a half year of rising cost pressure, tariff disruption, and stronger Chinese competition, but Mitsubishi Motors used agile responses to outperform its initial first-half plan. He emphasized that the company will keep responding swiftly to external changes, preserve profitability, and invest in growth areas at the same time. His tone was cautious but constructive, with repeated references to structural reforms and flexibility.

Kentaro Matsuoka highlighted that first-half performance weakened across sales and profit, with operating profit hit by lower volume, higher incentives, inflation-driven procurement and shipping costs, and a large foreign exchange drag of JPY 38.4 billion. He also pointed to temporary one-off items behind the net loss, including the JPY 7 billion U.S. environmental credit valuation loss and JPY 6 billion China JV exit loss. On operations, he said retail sales fell 6% year over year, while management is still aiming to expand market share with new models in ASEAN, Australia, Japan, and Europe.

There was no real analyst Q&A in this transcript; management largely delivered prepared remarks. The most notable forward-looking points were the unchanged profit plan, the cut to net sales guidance, and the explicit estimate of a JPY 32 billion tariff impact. Management also said it expects tougher competition to continue, which is why it is pursuing restructuring in China and Thailand and accelerating new-model rollouts.