Aurora, Canada/Vienna - Canadian-Austrian auto-parts supplier Magna International Inc on Wednesday reported a net loss of 200 million dollars in the first quarter, as car production dropped by 50 per cent in North America.

The report came days after the company confirmed its interest in taking over a share of German car maker Opel, a subsidiary of General Motors.

The loss stood in contrast to last year's first-quarter net profit of 207 million dollars.

Global sales plummeted by 46 per cent to 3.6 billion dollars, while operating losses amounted to 230 million dollars, compared with operating profits of 286 million dollars in the first three months of 2008.

"The decreases in revenue and results mirror the market situation," said Magna chief executive Siegfried Wolf. "Despite this temporarily difficult situation, Magna has one of the most solid and strongest financial bases in the industry, possessing cash reserves of 1.7 billion dollars."

Magna said it was unable to predict the fallout of the recent filing for bankcruptcy by its fourth largest customer Chrysler, and of a potential bankruptcy of its largest customer General Motors (GM).

Besides Italian auto-maker Fiat, Magna is the second potential bidder for Opel, a daughter of GM.

Magna founder and board chairman Frank Stronach said Monday that his company wanted no more than 20 per cent of Opel. In his interview with the Canadian daily Globe and Mail, Stronach did not comment on a possible joint offer with Russian industrial and financial partners.

Magna, which is based both Canada and Austria, is the world's third-largest supplier of car parts. It also assembles complete vehicles for its brand-name customers.