Honda profit rose 78% inQ1 with sales jumping to 901 thousand cars

Japan's Honda Motor، which makes the Fit subcompact، Honda E-electric car and Gold Wing motorcycle announced today، Wednesday، that its April-June of this year profit rose 78% boosted by increased sales، especially in the North American market، especiallu USA and Canada where production recovered، and a weaker yen so that its fiscal first-quarter profit totaled 363 billion yen ($2.5 billion)، up from 149 billion yen the previous 3 months، and compared with a 222.2billion yen profit in the same period last year.

Sales jumped to 901 thousand vehicles

Japan's Honda Motorsold 901 thousand vehicles in the latest quarter from April-June period of this year، up from 815 thousand car in the same quarter a year earlier and also sold more motorcycles worldwide at nearly 4.5 million، up from 4.2 million.

Honda Motor، Japan's second-biggest automaker by sales، said its operating profit totalled 394.4 billion yen ($2.76 billion) in the three months through June، easily beating the average 324.74 billion yen estimate in a poll of 10 analysts by Refinitiv.

Honda April-June profit more than doubled

Reuters mentioned that Honda Motor reported Wednesday that its April-June profit more than doubled on healthy sales of its motorcycles and cars، as the Japanese company also received a perk from favorable exchange rates as the yen weakened.

Like other automakers، Honda Motor indicated that it benefited from strong sales to retail customers in the key U.S. market، posting a 44.7% year-on-year jump to 347 thousand units، as the impact of post-pandemic disruptions in the supply of parts and chips eases.

Sales in China drop 5% for the quarter

That contrasted sharply with a steep 5% drop in sales in China to 309 thousand vehicles that Honda Motor reported for the quarter، faced with growing local competition and a rapid shift to electric vehicles in China، the world's biggest car market.

Honda Motor official explained that business conditions in China had grown worse for Honda cars compared to when it issued its forecast of selling 1.4 million vehicles for the full year and the Japan's second-biggest automaker is still operating amid some restrictions from semiconductors.

Honda forecast for a 1.0 trillion yen operating profit

Honda maintained its forecast for a 1.0 trillion yen operating profit for the current year، lower than the 1.117 trillion yen average forecast from 22 analysts but If it wants to revise its sales forecast in China، it has to move ahead with considering whether it can distribute parts to and manufacture more in other regions.

Honda Motor official added that the company will weigh the need for an update to its full-year outlook including the benefits it sees from a weakening yen when it announces second-quarter results around the start of next November after the profit at Japan's Honda doubles on healthy global auto and motorcycle sales.

Growing sales in the 3 months ending June

Honda Motor Co.'s financial service division also reported growing sales in the 3 months ending June، as quarterly sales jumped 21% to 4.6 trillion yen ($32 billion) while automakers around the world were slammed by supply shortages because of production delays related to social restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic، although such restrictions have eased، allowing production to pick up again.

A weaker yen، trading lately at about 143 yen to the U.S. Dollar، is a boon for Japanese exporters by boosting the amount of its overseas earnings when converted into yen، however،Honda stuck to its full-year projection of an 800 billion yen ($5.6 billion) profit، up from 651 billion yen a year earlier.

Honda sales were about the same in Japan

Honda Motor Co.'s auto sales were about the same in Japan in the latest quarter as in the previous year، while dropping significantly in China because of intense competition from makers of battery electric vehicles but Honda is banking on growth in EVs in the U.S. Market، where it recently announced it is joining six other companies in the creation of a high-powered charging network across North America.

Worries about climate change have helped set off a dramatic shift in the auto industry toward battery electric vehicles، allowing for relative newcomers like Tesla and BYD to prosper، while catching some Japanese makers off guard with their hybrids and regular gasoline-powered models.

Honda Motor warned that a computer chip shortage crimped its motorcycle sales in India، while sales rebounded in Indonesia as production recovered but itadded 23 billion yen ($160 million) to its quarterly operating profit because of the impact of currency exchange rates.