TOKYO (AP) — Honda lowered its revenue and automobile gross sales forecasts for the fiscal 12 months, pointing Friday to shortages of pc chips and rising materials prices.
Honda Motor Co. recorded a 31% drop in its fiscal second quarter revenue, to 166.6 billion yen ($1.5 billion) from 240.9 billion yen final 12 months. Quarterly gross sales slipped 7% to three.4 trillion yen ($30 billion).
Honda is amongst many world producers laborious hit by a scarcity of pc chips on account of disruptions associated to the pandemic.
Honda Govt Vice President Seiji Kuraishi apologized for the issue.
“We really feel so sorry about all these folks ready eagerly for our automobiles,” he mentioned, making a slight bow at a information convention.
Kuraishi mentioned the provision scenario was beginning to enhance, however the restoration in Honda manufacturing possible gained’t come on this fiscal 12 months. Honda plans to rev up manufacturing within the subsequent fiscal 12 months to make up for the loss, and the present issues gained’t damage investments in future know-how akin to electric vehicles, he mentioned.
Honda expects a 555 billion yen ($4.9 billion) revenue for the fiscal 12 months by means of March 2022. That’s down 16% from the earlier fiscal 12 months, and decrease than an earlier forecast for a 670 billion yen ($5.9 billion) revenue.
Honda bought 917,000 automobiles within the July-September interval, down from 1.25 million automobiles final 12 months. The corporate now expects to promote 4.2 million automobiles for the fiscal 12 months by means of March 2022. It had earlier forecast gross sales of 4.85 million automobiles. Honda bought 4.5 million automobiles final fiscal 12 months.
Reporting by Yuri Kageyama
