Japan’s Honda reports a nearly 9% rise in profit on healthy demand for its motorcycles and cars

TOKYO (AP) — Honda reported Wednesday that its revenue rose 8.7% within the April-June quarter as sturdy gross sales of hybrid autos in Japan and the U.S., and bikes in India and Brazil, boosted the Japanese automaker’s earnings.

Honda Motor Co.’s revenue within the final quarter totaled 394.7 billion yen ($2.7 billion), up from 363 billion yen a yr earlier. Quarterly gross sales rose practically 17% to five.4 trillion yen ($36.7 billion).

A good foreign money alternate charge helped Honda, whereas robust worth competitors in China damage, based on the maker of the Accord sedan, Match subcompact, Tremendous Cub bike and Asimo robotic.

The optimistic influence of a weak yen added practically 48 billion yen ($326 million) to Honda’s quarterly working revenue, the corporate stated.

A weak yen works as a plus for Japanese exporters like Honda. The U.S. greenback was buying and selling above 150 yen within the final quarter, though it not too long ago declined to about 147 yen.

Eiji Fujimura, Honda’s chief monetary officer, stated the foreign money impact remained unsure, however careworn that Honda was centered on delivering the proper merchandise to numerous markets, serving to making it comparatively resilient to foreign money results.

He acknowledged the shift to electrical autos in China was transferring faster than anticipated, and Honda was busy adjusting its manufacturing. All of the Japanese automakers, which dominated in fuel engine autos, face a problem in competing within the EV sector.

Considerations additionally stay within the U.S. market, Fujimura stated, noting uncertainties over the presidential election in November, although he wouldn’t remark straight on the political scenario. American customers have been upset in regards to the quickly falling worth of electrical automobiles they’d simply purchased, together with Honda EVs, he stated.

Tokyo-based Honda caught to its fiscal yr forecast for 1 trillion yen ($6.8 billion) in revenue, down barely from 1.1 trillion yen racked up the earlier yr, on 20.3 trillion yen ($138 billion) gross sales, down from 20.4 trillion yen.

Honda’s bike gross sales have fallen in Thailand on account of its weak financial system however are booming total, together with in India and Brazil, in addition to North America. It expects to promote about 2.97 million autos world wide within the fiscal yr ending in March 2025, and 13 million bikes, each about the identical as a yr in the past.

Final month, Nissan Motor Co. lowered its annual revenue projection, as income declined regardless of regular gross sales. Toyota Motor Corp. reported document income for the most recent quarter, as a positive alternate charge boosted its backside line.

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Yuri Kageyama is on X: