Honda Raises Forecast, Avoids Loss for First Half

Washington DC October 27, 2009; The AIADA newsletter reported that Japanese government incentives for green cars and strong sales in China helped Honda Motor Co. avoid red ink for the first half and raise its full year profit forecast.

According to the Detroit News, Japan's No. 2 automaker said Tuesday it now expects a net profit for the fiscal year ending March of 155 billion yen ($1.7 billion). Hit by a strong yen and weak global auto market, net profit for the July-September quarter fell 56.2 percent from a year earlier to 54.0 billion yen ($587.0 million) but was better than expected. For the first half, the automaker booked a net profit of 61.5 billion yen compared with its earlier projection for a 10 billion yen loss.

Honda has succeeded in weathering the global economic slump better than some rivals because it focuses on smaller fuel-efficient models such as its new Insight hybrid, which has been a big hit with the Japanese.

The company has also indicated its plans to review its product lineup to produce less expensive and more fuel efficient vehicles. On Monday, Automotive News reported that the planned changes could impact the release of the new Civic, which was originally due to arrive in less than a year.

Click here for more on Honda's profit forecast.

Click here for more on its product plans.