Automotive News - November 3, 2008 - (Page 28)

28 • NOVEMBER 3, 2008 Honda’s N.A. operating profit falls 80.6% in quarter Hans Greimel hgreimel@crain.com Honda’s Takeo Fukui: Flexibility is key ➤ 24 The new outlook would be a 42.3 percent decrease from last year. With U.S. sales of the Honda Ridgeline pickup and Odyssey minivan hurt by soaring gasoline prices, Honda has realigned North American production to roll out more small cars and fewer big ones. But the company still expects North America to be the only region booking a decline in unit sales for the current fiscal year — a 6.2 percent drop to 1.74 million vehicles. Honda outperformed its top rivals in the United States, with unit sales falling only 1.1 percent through September, compared with an industry average down 12.8 percent. Plunging profits Honda’s profits in North America fell drastically in its fiscal 2nd quarter. JULY-SEPT. CHANGE TOKYO — Honda Motor Co.’s operating profit in North America tumbled 80.6 percent in the July-September quarter, spurring the automaker to cut its full-year earnings outlook. Regional operating profit dropped to ¥22.5 billion ($208.3 million) in the carmaker’s fiscal second quarter from ¥116.0 billion ($1.07 billion) a year earlier. Sales in North America, Honda’s most important market, slid 9.9 percent to 401,000 vehicles. Citing unraveling demand in the United States, Honda cut its forecast for global operating profits to $5.09 billion for the fiscal year that ends March 31, 2009, from an earlier target of $5.83 billion. Operating profits Source: Honda $208.3 million –80.6% But the company is less optimistic about the future. In announcing second-quarter earnings last week, Honda also trimmed its consolidated full-year revenue and net-income forecasts. The company now sees global revenue falling 3.4 percent to $107.4 billion and net income declining 19.2 percent to $4.491 billion. For the July-September period, Honda’s global operating profit fell 48.0 percent from a year earlier to $1.38 billion. Sales dropped 4.9 percent to $26.18 billion. A stronger-than-expected yen helped undermine second-quarter results. The dollar bought only ¥108 yen in the period, compared with ¥118 a year earlier. That meant Honda’s dollarbased earnings were worth less when converted into yen. Foreign-currency losses bit $436.1 million from Honda’s operating profit. The company is basing its revised earnings forecasts on ¥100 to the dollar for the second half. Last Tuesday, Oct. 28, the yen was trading at 93.3 to the dollar. c SEE PROFIT POTENTIAL LIKE NEVER BEFORE! Picture this You and your industry colleagues have just hung out at a party, raised a truckload of cash for charity or fired your best rounds of golf. Share your snapshots with us. When the celebration is over, e-mail your high-resolution photos, IDs and a brief description of the event to autonews@crain.com. ■ WRX games Skateboards have soared to new heights under Danny Way. He has jumped the Great Wall of China and has won gold medals in the X Games Big Air competition. But his new set of wheels, while built for performance, should remain on terra firma. A 2009 Subaru Impreza WRX was presented to Way after fans chose the skateboarding pro as the Subaru Most Outstanding Athlete of this year’s X Games. Way, left, joins Subaru of America District Sales Manager Rob Egleston, center, and Kurt Anderson, general manager of Bob Baker Subaru in El Cajon, Calif., at the dealership. with Crystal Fusion windshield protection… Boost Profits • A proven profit-generating program • Easy to sell; easy to install • Five Year Warranty administered by Safe-Guard Products International, LLC Energize F & I • Adds revenue to the sale and transferable value to the vehicle • Offers a tangible, easily recognized benefit ■ Toyota’s fashion fan He may not be Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein or Tommy Hilfiger, but Toyota’s Tetsuya Kaida knows a thing or two about fashion. Spurred by Kaida, Toyota collaborated with a team of Chicago fashion designers — Agga B. Raya, Anna Fong, Melissa Serpico and Lidia Wachowska — for the world premiere of clothing inspired by Toyota’s i-Real concept vehicle at Fashion Focus Chicago 2008. Kaida, general manager of Toyota’s Business Revolution Corporate Value Project Department, is shown giving a tutorial of the personal mobility vehicle during the fashion event. He’s holding an authentic Japanese fan that doubles as a press kit. The fans were distributed to the more than 1,000 people who attended the fashion show. Enhance the Driver Experience • Improves visibility and driver reaction time • Makes glass up to 10x stronger • Significantly reduces night glare 1-866-529-5999 mention code 1027 • see www.cftproducts.com http://www.cftproducts.com http://www.cftproducts.com http://www.guidepointsystems.com http://www.guidepointsystems.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - November 3, 2008

Credit? Come and get it, industry groups say GM's product delays signal dire health Ford sticks with small-car plans Mitsubishi CEO: Let's halt Galant production in U.S. A dealer â and his reputation â on the ballot Help vehicles shed pounds American Axle posts loss UAW hires bailout adviser Ford to spend $200 million to upgrade 2 Ky. plants No off-lease cars? Certified will find others Arlena Sawyers China's stock market plunge has spooked car shoppers Advantage, Ford: Mulally likes owning Ford Credit Supplier execs join innovation panel at congress Quietly, Mini seeks 500 drivers to lease electric car for a year Reynolds bolsters document business Winterkorn: Audi needs to build in U.S. The great revenue drop of 2008 Bidders bet they can rebuild Heard 1 size fits all NADA: Give us tax incentives, dealer loan guarantees Campaigns' climate, energy plans hit economic wall Detroit 3 need and deserve U.S. help now Chrysler needs a buyer, but not GM Dealers pay fair share of taxes Washington hurts, not helps, electrics Compressed natural gas is the best fuel New ads aim to raise Suzuki's low profile Suzuki's new ad strategist: This brand has soul Fuel efficiency is coming â it just takes time Electrics edge closer by 2010 Tougher CAFE standards loom R&d chiefs shift gears for an electric future Japan carmakers lead charge into electrics Buffett backs BYD's sketchy plan for U.S. electric car Q&A: BYD envisions 2010 exports to U.S., Europe Girding the power grid for an electric fleet Hype powers plug-in vehicles Coachbuilders see salvation in electric cars Electric vehicles are charging into Europe Expect stop-start's big start to arrive in 2010 Flexibility will help Honda survive the storm Nardelli: Bailout not perfect â but needed Audi goes high-tech to boost service Acura offers quick service to win business Toyota's fashion fan Picture this Hondaâs N.A. operating profit falls 80.6% in quarter Aug. RV shipments fall 44% VW drops hints about car for new Tenn. plant Mexico sales fall 10.7% in September Honda to boost CR-V, end Civic output in Ohio Ford and GM jockey for steel discounts Dealers Ford Credit seeks to tap $700 billion package GM will end a used-car incentive early Nissan, Mitsubishi, Mazda recast fiscal 2009 forecasts Metaldyne to bondholders: Take 30% or Chap. 11 looms Detroit 3 ties hurt profits of dealer groups GM takeover would eviscerate Chrysler ranks, model lineup Mitsubishi plans electric hauler To match Toyota, Nissan offers 0% loans Sticker, sticker at the mall, what's the cheapest of them all? The Versa Waiting is what it's all about, Alfa Buy Chrysler? GM should sell Buick to SAIC Pickups pumped up by pump price plunge Chrysler hybrids, we hardly new ye Ghosn: Your best partner is a president in your pocket Sonic wins, but Mercedes wants last word

Automotive News - November 3, 2008

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