Isuzu Motors’ group net profit climbed 35% year on year to a record JPY56.80bn for the April-September period, due to a weaker yen and solid truck demand in Japan, Southeast Asia and the Middle East.
The major truck and bus maker said its consolidated operating profit rose 57.5% to a record JPY90.29bn on sales of JPY875.23bn, up 12.2%, Kyodo News reported.
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Strong sales of pickup trucks in Thailand also contributed to the earnings growth, Isuzu president Susumu Hosoi said in a news conference.
Its domestic sales increased 5.1% to 31,619 units thanks to brisk demand stemming from Japan’s reconstruction from the 2011 earthquake and tsunami as well as the government’s economic stimulus measures, the company said.
Overseas sales rose 2% to 222,530 units as robust sales in southeast Asia, the Middle East and North America more than offset slack demand in Europe and China due to economic slowdowns there, it said.
For the full business year to 31 March, however, the automaker slashed its sales projection by JPY100bn to JPY1.82 trillion from JPY1.92 trillion due to uncertainties in the economic outlook in Thailand in the latter half of the business year. The newly projected sales are 9.9% higher than sales in the previous year.
Meanwhile, the company left unchanged its group net profit forecast at JPY115bn, up 19.1% from fiscal 2012, and a consolidated operating profit estimate at JPY180bn, up 37.6%.
