Earnings roundup: Mazda, Samsung Electronics

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TOKYO (AP) Honda saw its profit slashed due to a tax dispute and Mitsubishi racked up costs for closing an Australian plant. But Mazda the smallest of Japan's five biggest automakers emerged unscathed Friday to report booming profits for the January-March quarter.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) Samsung Electronics said Friday its profit rose 37 percent in the first quarter as strength in mobile phones and liquid crystal displays offset weakness in semiconductors.

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) Wireless equipment maker LM Ericsson AB on Friday said its first-quarter profit fell 55 percent, which was better than expected, and the company's shares soared more than 25 percent.

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ALPHARETTA, Ga. (AP) ChoicePoint Inc., which collects, sells access to and analyzes consumers' personal information, said Friday its first-quarter profit tumbled 26 percent, as operating charges offset higher revenue.

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. (AP) Insituform Technologies Inc., a contractor that rehabilitates sewers and underground piping systems, said Friday it swung to a first-quarter profit on easy comparisons to a prior-year quarter hurt by charges.