HONDA RAISES PROFIT FORECAST BY 2.8pc

Carmaker expects to post 745b yen profit, to be helped by Asia sales and weaker yen

HONDA Motor Co Ltd yesterday raised its forecast for full-year operating profit by 2.8 per cent as it expects to sell more cars and motorcycles this year, particularly in Asia, while it also sees a weaker yen boosting its bottom line.

Japan’s third-biggest carmaker expects to post operating profit of 745 billion yen (RM27.66 billion) in the year to March, up from a previous forecast of 725 billion yen.

In July-September, it posted a 152.9 billion yen operating profit, down 32.9 per cent from 228 billion yen a year earlier and slightly lower than a mean 153.84 billion yen taken from 11 analyst estimates in a poll by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

While litigation settlement weighed on operating profit for the quarter, Honda raised its fullyear forecast based on a revised assumption of the yen trading around 109 yen to the US dollar.

The forecast still represents an 11.4 per cent slide from last year.

On a group basis, Honda sold 452,000 vehicles in North America in the quarter, down from 479,000 units a year earlier.

Offsetting those lower sales are booming sales in China, the world’s largest car market, where Honda sold 1.03 million vehicles in January-September, up 18 per cent from the same period last year.

As a result, Honda expects to sell 2.1 million vehicles this year in Asia, compared with 1.92 million in North America, historically its biggest market.

Overall, Honda expects to sell 5.13 million vehicles globally in the year to March, up from a previous forecast of 5.08 million units. Reuters