Honda Jan-Mar net up 61 pc at 71.59 bn yen

The entity had a net profit of 44.5 billion yen in the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2011, Honda said in a statement.

The company's net sales went up by 8.7 per cent to 2,405 billion yen in the fourth quarter ending march 2012, driven by increase in sales of automobile and motorcycles.

"A swift recovery in auto production after the earthquake and flood, along with new model momentum mainly in Japan and North America, led to a big rise in sales," Honda said.

However, its revenue from Asian operations declined by 17 per cent to 391.5 billion yen, mainly on account of earthquake and flooding in Thailand.

The company gained positively from Indian operations mainly on account of Brio sales.

In terms of segments, automobile unit sales totaled 988,000 units during the quarter under review, an increase of 14.9 per cent from the same period last year positively impacted by higher sales in North America and Japan.

Besides, sales of motorcycles totaled 3.45 million units in three months ended March 31, 2012, an increase of 17.8 per cent from the year-ago period, mainly due to increase of sales in Asia and South America.

Power product unit sales also climbed 15.1 per cent to 2 million units, led by increase in sales in North America and Asia region.

Looking ahead, Honda is optimistic of a robust profit in and projected a net profit of 470 billion yen in financial year 2013. PTI SSM SP RAH