THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
February 8, 2024 at 17:50 JST
People walk near the logo of Honda Motor Company at a showroom on Feb. 8, 2022, in Tokyo. (AP Photo)
Japanese automaker Honda’s profit rose 3.5% in the October-December quarter from a year earlier on the back of solid demand in the U.S. and Europe and a recovery in its home market, the company said Thursday.
Tokyo-based Honda Motor Corp’s profit in the last quarter was 253.3 billion yen, or $1.7 billion. Quarterly sales jumped 21% to 5.39 trillion yen ($36 billion).
A favorable exchange rate helped amplify Honda’s overseas profits in yen terms and is expected to continue through the rest of the fiscal year, which ends in March.
The dollar has been trading at about 148 Japanese yen, up from about 140 yen last year.
All the automakers have been hurt by shortages of computer chips and other parts, partly due to disruptions in manufacturing because of the coronavirus pandemic. The latest results show Honda has mostly but not yet fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels in some locations.
Honda’s motorcycle sales grew in recent months in Brazil and Europe, according to the manufacturer of the Fit small car, Super Cub motorcycle and Asimo robot.
Honda said it remained committed to “initiatives toward electrification,” pointing to the global electric vehicle concept models shown at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, such as the Saloon and Space Hub.
Japanese automakers including Honda have lagged in the global push toward pure EVs, partly because of their strength in other green models such as hybrids and fuel cells.
Over the first nine months of the fiscal year, Honda sold 3.1 million vehicles, up from 2.7 million vehicles the previous year, with sales especially strong in the U.S.
A decline in Honda’s vehicle sales in Thailand and Indonesia was offset by rising sales in China.
For the full fiscal year through March, Honda is projecting a 960 billion yen ($6.5 billion) profit, up from an earlier forecast for a 930 billion yen ($6.3 billion), and surpassing the 651 billion yen earned the year before.
Japan automaker Honda’s profit rises despite pandemic damage
February 9, 2021
Japanese automaker Honda reports its 3Q profit jumped on strong demand at home and in the U.S.
November 9, 2023
Honda sees profit slide on chips, material cost woes
May 14, 2022
Honda lowers profit, vehicle sales forecast over chip crunch
November 5, 2021
Honda reverts to profit on recovery from pandemic damage
August 4, 2021
Here is a collection of first-hand accounts by “hibakusha” atomic bomb survivors.
A peek through the music industry’s curtain at the producers who harnessed social media to help their idols go global.
Cooking experts, chefs and others involved in the field of food introduce their special recipes intertwined with their paths in life.
A series based on diplomatic documents declassified by Japan’s Foreign Ministry
A series about Japanese-Americans and their memories of World War II
