JAPAN/FILE: Honda forecasts a worse-than-expected 65 percent drop in profit for the year to March after natural disasters in Japan and Thailand and a strong yen

Record ID: 466198

  • Title: JAPAN/FILE: Honda forecasts a worse-than-expected 65 percent drop in profit for the year to March after natural disasters in Japan and Thailand and a strong yen
  • Date: 1st February 2012
  • Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (JANUARY 31, 2012) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF TOKYO STOCK EXCHANGE (TSE) SIGN READING: "TOKYO STOCK EXCHANGE" VARIOUS OF COMPANY REPRESENTATIVES DISTRIBUTING EARNINGS REPORTS INTO MEDIA PIGEON HOLES AT TSE NEWS CENTRE MAIN HALL OF TSE STOCK PRICE TICKER ABOVE TSE MAIN HALL MORE OF TSE MAIN HALL WORKERS AT TSE
  • Embargoed: 16th February 2012 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Japan, Thailand
  • City:
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: Business,Economy
  • Reuters ID: LVA1GR5VGH9LOQ81CAJJV2I0WOI0
  • Story Text: Honda Motor on Tuesday (January 31) forecast a worse-than-expected 65 percent drop in profit for the year to March after natural disasters in Japan and Thailand hammered it harder than its rivals while the strong yen delivered an added blow.
    Japan's No.3 automaker was the slowest to recover from supply chain disruptions after the earthquake and tsunami in March, while it was alone in having a car factory inundated by historic floods in Thailand, Southeast Asia's export hub.
    Before results were announced, Honda's shares ended down 0.6 percent, while the benchmark Nikkei index closed in the black, up 0.1 percent.
    For the business year to March 31, 2012, Honda said it expects operating profit of 200 billion yen ($2.6 billion USD), hit also by an estimated 8-yen fall in the dollar to 78 yen.
    The company said it lost an estimated 260,000 vehicles of production globally from supply disruptions caused by the Thai floods.
    In 2011, Honda's global output dropped by a fifth to 2.91 million cars, slipping below 3 million for the first time in eight years.
    The new profit forecast is far short of the 270 billion yen it projected in August before withdrawing that guidance, citing uncertainty over when car production could restart in Thailand.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2012. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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