Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (HMC) reported Thursday a surge in third-quarter profit, benefited by the recovery from the impact of the major flooding in Thailand as well as higher sales mainly in North America. Meanwhile, the company trimmed its full-year earnings outlook, citing market valuation losses on foreign exchange contracts.
For the third quarter, net income attributable to the company jumped to to 77.4 billion yen from 47.6 billion yen in the same period last year.
Consolidated operating income amounted to 131.9 billion yen, a growth of 197.8% from last year. The company attributed the growth to the recovery from the impact of the major flooding in Thailand as well as an increase in automobile sales mainly in North America as a result of the positive effects of new model introductions.
Net sales and other operating revenues surged to 2.43 trillion yen from 1.94 trillion yen last year.
In the quarter, the company sold 3.815 million units of motorcycles, higher than prior year's 3.609 million units. Automobiles' sales were 986 thousand units, compared to 783 thousand units last year.
For the nine-month period ended December 31, 2012, the company reported a profit of 291.3 billion yen, up 108.3 percent from last year. Revenues increased to 7.13 trillion yen from 5.54 trillion yen last year.
Looking ahead for the fiscal year ending March 31, Honda Motor currently projects earnings at 370 billion yen, lower than previous estimate of 375 billion yen.
The market valuation losses on foreign exchange contracts due to rapid depreciation of the yen since the end of 2012 was factored into the downward revision of the forecast, the company noted.
Meanwhile, Honda has maintained its forecast for full-year operating income at 520 billion yen, factoring in a decline in automobile sales in Europe and China due to severe economic conditions which offset the positive impact of the recent depreciation of the yen.
The company has also declared quarterly dividend of 19 yen per share, up 4 yen from last year. The total cash dividends to be paid for the fiscal year are planned to be 76 yen per share, an increase of 16 yen per share from the previous fiscal year.
In Japan, Honda Motor shares closed Wednesday's trading at 3,505 yen, up 30 yen or 0.86 percent.
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