Honda Motor Co posted a ¥72 billion (US$774 million) profit for the first quarter in a reversal from red ink a year earlier as booming demand in China and India combined with a fledgling recovery in the US boosted car sales.
Honda, Japan’s No. 2 automaker, reported yesterday that quarterly sales surged 28 percent from a year earlier to ¥2.28 trillion.
Honda, which makes the Insight hybrid and the Odyssey minivan, sold 874,000 vehicles in the fiscal fourth quarter, up 28.5 percent from 680,000 the year before.
Honda’s better fortunes mirror similar recoveries at other Japanese automakers, whose results had been battered the previous year by the financial crisis.
Honda’s sales in Japan recovered, helped by tax breaks for “green” models and brisk demand for smaller models like the Fit, Honda said.
For the fiscal year ended March 31, Honda reported a 96 percent rise in profit to ¥268.4 billion. Sales of ¥8.58 trillion were down 14 percent from the previous year.
Honda is expecting better results for the fiscal year through March 31 next year, forecasting ¥340 billion in profit, up 27 percent from the fiscal year just ended.
Sales are projected to climb 9 percent to ¥9.34 trillion, it said.
Honda’s US sales have been recovering moderately, while the European market was also gradually beginning to recover in the latter half, helped by government incentives, Tokyo-based Honda said.
Mazda Motor Corp and Mitsubishi Motors Corp — Japan’s No. 4 and No. 5 automakers — also posted net profits for the first quarter, reversing losses from a year earlier.
Toyota Motor Corp, the world’s biggest automaker, whose sales have been hurt by a recall crisis, and Nissan Motor Co, allied with Renault SA of France, Japan’s No. 3 automaker, report earnings next month.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
SHOT IN THE ARM: The new system can be integrated with Avenger and Stinger missiles to bolster regional air defense capabilities, a defense ministry report said Domestically developed Land Sword II (陸射劍二) missiles were successfully launched and hit target drones during a live-fire exercise at the Jiupeng Military Base in Pingtung County yesterday. The missiles, developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), were originally scheduled to launch on Tuesday last week, after the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday long weekend, but were postponed to yesterday due to weather conditions. Local residents and military enthusiasts gathered outside the base to watch the missile tests, with the first one launching at 9:10am. The Land Sword II system, which is derived from the Sky Sword II (天劍二) series, was turned