Honda revises up full-year operating profit forecast despite chip shortfalls

Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267) on Wednesday revised up its full-year operating profit forecast despite continuing global semiconductor shortage, as results were aided by cost-cutting efforts and a favorable exchange rate of the Japanese Yen.

For the year to March 31st, Honda now expects an operating profit of JPY 800 billion ($6.93 billion).

Still, the company’s fiscal third-quarter operating profit dropped 17% year-on-year to JPY 229 billion ($1.98 billion), as the chip shortage weighed on vehicle production.

However, profit for the three months to December exceeded a consensus of analyst estimates of JPY 166.2 billion.

Despite the semiconductor shortage, the Japanese auto maker stuck to its plan to sell 4.2 million vehicles during the current business year, after selling 4.5 million vehicles in the prior 12 months.

The shares of Honda Motor Co Ltd closed higher for a third consecutive trading session in Tokyo on Thursday. It has also been the sharpest single-session gain since November 9th 2020. The stock went up 5.61% (JPY 192.0) to JPY 3,613.0, after touching an intraday high at JPY 3,683.0. The latter has been a price level not seen since May 23rd 2018 (JPY 3,686.0).