Jan 31, 2009

Business - Honda profit dips 90 pct, first time in 3 yrs

Hit by sliding automobile sales, Japanese auto giant Honda Motor on Friday, for the first time in three years, reported a 90 per cent decline in profits for the December quarter.

For the financial year ending March 31, 2009, the auto maker now expects to post a decline in net sales and other operating revenues for the first time in nine years.

Honda has recorded a profit of 20.2 billion yen for the third quarter ended December last year, plunging 90 per cent as compared to the same period a year ago.

In a statement, the firm said the third quarter profit has declined for the first time in three years. Honda's bottomline stood at 200 billion yen in the year-ago period.

During the same period, net sales and other revenues tumbled nearly 17 per cent to 2,533.2 billion yen.

"Consolidated net sales and other operating revenue for the fiscal third quarter ended December 31, 2008 amounted to 2,533.2 billion yen, a decrease of 16.8 per cent compared to the same period a year ago, due to factors including the negative impact of currency translation and declined sales of automobile business," the statement said.

Further, the entity's operating income plunged 63 per cent to 102.4 billion yen mainly due to negative impact of currency effects and increased raw material costs.

On the other hand, Honda anticipates to post net sales and other operating revenue to the tune of 10,100 billion yen fiscal year ending March 31, 2009 and said it would be a "decrease for the first time in nine years".

The car maker's net sales and other operating revenue stood at 12,002.8 billion yen in the year-ago period.

For financial year 2009, the company has projected the profit to plummet about 87 per cent to 80 billion yen. It had a profit of 600 billion yen in the same period a year ago.

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