Honda raises earnings forecasts for fiscal 2022 on weaker yen

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
The Honda booth displays the company logo at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan, 2018.

TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Honda Motor Co. revised upward its profit and sales forecasts for fiscal 2022 on a consolidated basis, as the yen’s weakening is expected to help push up its earnings from overseas operations.

For the year through March 2023, the major Japanese automaker now expects to report a net profit of ¥725 billion, up 2.5% from the previous year and up from the previous projection of ¥710 billion.

Sales forecast was raised from ¥16.75 trillion to ¥17.4 trillion, up 19.6% from fiscal 2021, and operating profit estimate was lifted from ¥830 billion to ¥870 billion, down 0.1%. Meanwhile, Honda cut its vehicle sales projection for fiscal 2022 by 100,000 units to 4.1 million units.

Honda Executive Vice President Kohei Takeuchi said Honda is facing difficulty restoring production amid a shortage of semiconductors for its mainstay Civic sedan assembled in North America.

For the April-September first half, Honda reported group sales of ¥8,085.3 billion, up 15.7% from a year before, an operating profit of ¥453.4 billion, up 2.5%, and a net profit of ¥338.5 billion, down 13%.