Japan’s Honda sees profit slide on chips, material cost woes
Honda’s fiscal fourth quarter profit slipped to almost half of what the Japanese automaker earned the previous year as it endured supply shortages and rising raw materials costs.
Tokyo-based Honda Motor Co. reported Friday that its profit was 124.8 billion yen ($967 million) in the January-March quarter, down 41% from 213.3 billion yen a year earlier. Quarterly sales edged 7% higher to 3.88 trillion yen ($30 billion).
Honda said it is cutting costs but acknowledged continuing uncertainty over supplies and production for various reasons, such as Chinese lockdowns to battle coronavirus outbreaks.
The semiconductor shortage has hurt sales, despite strong demand for Honda models, the company said. Honda was securing alternative suppliers, it said.
“I deeply apologize for the problems we have caused for those customers graciously waiting for our cars,” Honda Chief Financial Officer Kohei Takeuchi said from its headquarters.
In the fiscal year that ended in March,
Honda posted a 707 billion yen ($5.5 billion) profit, up 7.6% from 657 billion yen the year before. Sales totaled 14.6 trillion yen ($113 billion) sales, up 10.5% on year.
Honda, which makes the Accord sedan, Odyssey minivan and Civic compact, sold about 4 million vehicles for the fiscal year, down from 4.5 million vehicles. Vehicle sales dropped in Japan, the U.S. and the rest of Asia.
Motorcycle sales for the fiscal year increased 12.5% to 17 million motorcycles, as sales grew especially in Asia. (AP)