Japanese car manufacturer Mitsubishi Motors on Tuesday reported a pre-tax profit of 41.54 billion yen ($279 million) for the first quarter, lower than last year’s 61.64 billion yen. The group’s net profit attributable to the owners of the parent company slid to 29.5 billion yen from 47.9 billion yen. On a per share basis, profit slipped to 19.82 yen from 32.21 yen a year ago. While ordinary income for the period declined by 31.4% to 42.4 billion yen, operating income slid by 21.3% to 35.5 billion yen. Sales for the quarter fell by 1.3% to 627.5 billion yen from 635.7 billion yen in the last ye…