Honda's One-Quarter Reprieve From Market Weakness

HONG KONG - Honda Motor surprised the markets on Friday by posting 8.0% growth in its first-quarter earnings. Even so, having registered a record quarterly result, the automaker hedged the news with a caveat, projecting its full year net profit would drop by more than 18% as a consequence of higher production costs and the effects of yen appreciation on its sales. Honda Motor said Friday that its consolidated net income for the fiscal first quarter ended June 30 totaled 179.6 billion yen ($1.7 billion), an increase of 8.1% from 166.1 billion yen ($1.6 billion) in the comparable period in 2007, setting a first-quarter record for the firm and beating the average estimate of 135.4 billion yen ($1.3 billion) in a Reuters poll of eight brokerages. Net income per share for the quarter amounted to 99.0 yen (92.6 cents), up from 91.4... [read full story]