Japan’s Honda Motor Co yesterday cut its full-year forecast by more than half, its third revision downwards this year due to a soaring yen and a global economic slowdown.
Japan’s second-largest automaker said it now expected a net profit of ¥185 billion (US$2.08 billion) for the year to March, sharply down from its earlier forecast of a ¥485 billion net profit.
Honda said it planned to cut domestic production by 54,000 cars and would hold off on the release in Japan of the Acura luxury brand, which had been planned for 2010.
PHOTO: AP
“The world market, particularly for four-wheel vehicles, is shrinking rapidly due to the financial crisis, the resultant credit crisis as well as the sudden downturn in the real economy,” Honda said in a statement.
Honda now forecasts sales of ¥10.4 trillion for the year, down from ¥11.6 trillion projected earlier. Operating profit is seen at ¥180 billion, compared with its earlier forecast of ¥550 billion.
The company also said that the yen had stayed high longer than expected.
The Japanese currency yesterday soared to a fresh 13-year high against the US dollar. A strong yen makes Japanese exports less competitive.
Honda earlier this month announced a shock pullout from Formula One, saying it could not stay in the prestigious racing tournament due to the dire state of the global economy.
NISSAN
Meanwhile, Nissan Motor Co said yesterday it was eliminating another 500 jobs in Japan and reducing production as the global economic crisis saps demand for cars.
Japan’s third-largest automaker said it would reduce output by 78,000 cars from January to March by cutting shifts or operating days at plants. The 500 workers are all on temporary contracts. With the cuts, Nissan will no longer have any contract workers at its factories in Japan, a company spokeswoman said.
Nissan said in a statement it took the decision to “manage inventory levels and ensure a balanced production supply in response to continued declines in global vehicle sales.”
Nissan, whose net profit slumped by more than 40 percent in the first half, said in October it was slashing 3,500 jobs worldwide.
In recent months, it had already said it would cut production by 137,000 vehicles, mostly luxury cars and sports utility vehicles that had been meant for export to the US, where demand has plummeted.
Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has died of pneumonia at the age of 48 while on a trip to Japan, where she contracted influenza during the Lunar New Year holiday, her sister confirmed today through an agent. "Our whole family came to Japan for a trip, and my dearest and most kindhearted sister Barbie Hsu died of influenza-induced pneumonia and unfortunately left us," Hsu's sister and talk show hostess Dee Hsu (徐熙娣) said. "I was grateful to be her sister in this life and that we got to care for and spend time with each other. I will always be grateful to
REMINDER: Of the 6.78 million doses of flu vaccine Taiwan purchased for this flu season, about 200,000 are still available, an official said, following Big S’ death As news broke of the death of Taiwanese actress and singer Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), also known as Big S (大S), from severe flu complications, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and doctors yesterday urged people at high risk to get vaccinated and be alert to signs of severe illness. Hsu’s family yesterday confirmed that the actress died on a family holiday in Japan due to pneumonia during the Lunar New Year holiday. CDC Deputy Director-General Tseng Shu-hui (曾淑慧) told an impromptu news conference that hospital visits for flu-like illnesses from Jan. 19 to Jan. 25 reached 162,352 — the highest
COMBINING FORCES: The 66th Marine Brigade would support the 202nd Military Police Command in its defense of Taipei against ‘decapitation strikes,’ a source said The Marine Corps has deployed more than 100 soldiers and officers of the 66th Marine Brigade to Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) as part of an effort to bolster defenses around the capital, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. Two weeks ago, a military source said that the Ministry of National Defense ordered the Marine Corps to increase soldier deployments in the Taipei area. The 66th Marine Brigade has been tasked with protecting key areas in Taipei, with the 202nd Military Police Command also continuing to defend the capital. That came after a 2017 decision by the ministry to station
PETITIONS: A Democratic Progressive Party official quoted President William Lai as saying that civil society groups are organizing the recall drives at the grassroots level Some civil society groups yesterday announced that they have collected enough signatures to pass the first-stage threshold to initiate a recall vote against Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators in 18 constituencies nationwide, saying that they would submit the signatures to the Central Election Commission (CEC) today. They also said that they expected to pass the threshold in eight more constituencies in the coming days, meaning the number of KMT legislators facing a recall vote could reach 26. The groups set up stations to collect signatures at local marketplaces and busy commercial districts. The legislators their petition drives target include Fu
RSS