Honda Motor Co. has reported a record group net profit of 426.66 billion yen for the fiscal year ended March 31, up 18% from a year earlier. The company cited robust sales in world markets and cost cutting as factors behind the result.
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While Honda topped its earlier group operating profit forecast of 660 billion yen, it fell just short of its targets for a group net profit of 430 billion yen and group sales of eight trillion yen for the just-ended fiscal year.
For the fiscal year ending March 2004, Honda expects to post a group net profit of 440 billion yen and a group operating profit of 620 billion yen on group sales of 8.300 trillion yen.
Honda’s vehicle sales in overseas markets rose 15% to 4.926 trillion yen in fiscal 2002, offsetting a fall of 8.5% in its domestic vehicle sales to 1.513 trillion yen.
Among overseas markets, auto sales in North America grew 11% to 3.927 trillion yen, while sales in Europe were up 25% at 420.3 billion yen.
In the North American market, Honda’s sales volume increased 11% to 1.5 million vehicles last year, while sales volume in the Japanese market fell 3.3% to 849,000 vehicles.
For the fiscal year through March 2004, Honda expects auto sales in North America to rise 2.5% to 1.56 million vehicles.
Honda expects sales volume in Japan to rise 0.7% to 855,000 vehicles.
On the cost side, Honda is sourcing some of it parts from China and Southeast Asia, and is hoping that by 2004 its parts bill will be 10% lower than in 2002.
