Japan’s Honda boosts profit despite chips crunch, COVID-19
TOKYO –
Honda reported a 27% bounce in its October-December revenue, regardless of headwinds like shortages of laptop chips and rising prices of uncooked supplies.
Tokyo-based Honda Motor Co.’s revenue within the final quarter totaled 244.6 billion yen (US$1.9 billion), up from 192.9 billion yen the yr earlier than.
Quarterly gross sales rose 20% to 4.4 trillion yen ($33.5 billion), as Honda bought extra bikes all over the world, in comparison with a yr in the past, whereas automobile gross sales have been little modified.
By area, Honda bought extra autos in Japan and the U.S., however gross sales declined in China and different elements of Asia. Motorcycle gross sales grew throughout all main markets, together with Japan, North America and the remainder of Asia, particularly Indonesia, India and Vietnam.
Like different automakers, together with Japanese rivals reminiscent of Toyota Motor Corp., Honda is stepping up within the push to supply extra electrical autos, as issues develop concerning the surroundings and local weather change.
The maker of the Accord sedan, Asimo robotic and Gold Wing bikes has promised to launch 30 EV fashions globally by 2030.
Honda is promising a spread of fashions, from tiny vans to muscular sportscars. It’s particularly aggressive in mannequin choices in China, the place Honda is a powerful model.
The firm can also be going electrical in bikes, introducing such merchandise in Europe and China earlier than a worldwide rollout.
Honda was harm by the scarcity of laptop chips and by pandemic-related disruptions in China, Eiji Fujimura, who oversees accounting at Honda, advised reporters.
The conflict in Ukraine and different developments which have despatched uncooked materials prices and vitality prices increased have additionally battered the underside line of the world’s automakers.
But Honda was helped by favorable forex fluctuations, anticipating that so as to add 269 billion yen ($2 billion) to its working revenue for the total fiscal yr via March.
A weak yen boosts the earnings of Japanese exporters like Honda when translating abroad income into yen. The U.S. greenback was buying and selling at about 115 yen a yr in the past. It rose as excessive as 150 yen over the previous yr and is buying and selling at about 130 yen currently.
Honda caught to its full yr revenue forecast at 725 billion yen ($5.5 billion), an enchancment from 707 billion revenue the earlier fiscal yr. It lowered its automobile gross sales forecast to three.85 million autos from an earlier 4.1 million. Honda bought 4.07 million autos the earlier fiscal yr.
Honda raised its bikes gross sales forecast for the fiscal yr to 18.7 million, higher than an earlier projection for 18.43 million bikes, and the 17 million bikes bought the earlier fiscal yr.
