ADVERTISEMENT
.gif)
Honda posts record profit, issues cautious forecasts
Published on: Monday, May 13, 2024
By: AFP
Text Size:
The Honda-Sony EV alliance and potential Nissan JV aim to compete with Chinese rivals amid a ‘once-in-a-century’ upheaval in the car industry. (AFP pic)
The company said net profit for the year to March soared 70% to 1.1 trillion yen (US$7.1 billion) on sales of 20.4 trillion yen, up 20.8% from the previous year.
Honda has made big outlays as it aggressively pursues a target set three years ago of achieving 100% electric vehicle sales by 2040.
Its 2023-24 results come two weeks after it announced the largest automotive investment in Canada’s history for a new US$11 billion EV battery and vehicle assembly plant.
.jpg)
The company already has a partnership in electric vehicles with Sony, and is exploring collaboration with arch-rival Nissan as they face a “once-in-a-century” upheaval in the car industry — a move analysts say is aimed at catching up with Chinese EV competitors.
On Friday, Honda said global vehicle sales were up, thanks largely to its vehicles’ popularity in the US.
Sales volume was down in China, however, while its motorcycle division’s robust sales in India and Brazil offset falls in Vietnam.
Price increases and the weak yen boosted profits overall, Honda said.
For the year to March 2025, the company expects net profit to fall 9.7% to 1.0 trillion yen on sales of 20.3 trillion yen, down 0.6%.
Rising costs and changes to forex rates may put pressure on company results going forward, it said.
Vehicle sales in the US and the Japanese markets are expected to grow, Honda said, but it predicted sales in the rest of Asia would ease.
Nissan on Thursday said it had nearly doubled its 2023-24 net profit, weathering challenges in the Chinese market, but forecast a dip of around 10% for 2024-25.
Toyota, the world’s top-selling automaker, also posted a record annual net profit this week.
