Honda Enjoys 283% Jump In First Quarter Earnings
May 05, 2011
TOKYO -- Honda Motor Co. reported its net profit for the fiscal first quarter rose 283% to 45.71 billion yen, lifted in part by a weaker yen and better sales in the U.S. and Japan. Sales for the quarter rose 30% to 1.231 trillion yen. The company said it was raising its group net profit forecast for the fiscal year ending December 11, 2011 by 33% to 160 billion yen, on an estimated 4.3% sales increase. The weaker yen was also cited as one of the reasons for the revisions. Honda said its previous forecasts didn't take into account the weak yen. Honda said earnings for the first quarter ended June were calculated at a rate of 94 yen to the dollar, down from 90 yen for the same period a year ago. The shift in the exchange rate added 25 billion yen to the company's operating level, Honda officials said. Group operating profit for the three-month period rose 162% to 68.65 billion yen, mostly because of cost-cutting and the yen's depreciation. Honda's motorcycle sales rose 3.2% to 1.32 million units, with motorcycle sales revenue climbing 19% to 172.30 billion yen. Automobile sales rose 16% to 515,000 units, with revenue up 35% to 976.90 billion yen. Analysts said that Honda clearly has been the best performer among Japanese auto makers in the past several months, but the latest results were even slightly better than what they had been expecting. ``We may see a positive reaction on its stock prices when the market opens on Monday,'' said Robles Fenton, an analyst for Goldman Sachs (Japan) Ltd.. She and other analysts said although Honda share prices are generally seen as having peaked after more than doubling over the past year, the latest earnings could trigger a mini-rally.
