Honda’s profits and sales drop amid chip shortages and rising costs
by Associated Press
Honda's manufacturing also has been affected by delays due to measures to curb coronavirus outbreaks.
Honda’s profit dropped 32% in the last quarter as rising material costs and a shortage of computer chips hurt the Japanese automaker.
Honda Motor Co.’s profit for the three months through December totaled 192.9 billion yen ($1.7 billion), down from 284 billion yen the year before, the Tokyo-based company said on Feb. 9.
Quarterly sales slipped 2% to 3.7 trillion yen ($32 billion).
Like the rest of the world’s automakers, Honda’s manufacturing also has been affected by delays due to measures to curb coronavirus outbreaks. Japan’s top automaker Toyota reported a similar drop in profit.
Honda, which makes the Accord sedan, Gold Wing motorcycles and Asimo robot, said it expects the challenges to persist.
Rising material costs are also a problem, but the company said cost-cutting efforts allowed it to raise its profit projection.
It raised its full fiscal year profit forecast to 670 billion yen ($5.8 billion) from an earlier projection of 555 billion yen ($4.8 billion), an improvement from the 657 billion profit earned in the previous fiscal year.
