Honda overcomes high yen

The only automaker to record better U.S. sales in June compared with a year ago, reports larger-than-expected profit increase, but sees slower growth ahead. Paste this link into your favorite RSS desktop reader TOKYO (AP) -- Honda Motor Co. reported record profit for a fiscal first quarter Friday as sales growth in new markets offset the damage from a stronger yen and soaring material costs. Honda, Japan's No. 2 automaker, earned a better-than-expected $1.68 billion in the April-June quarter, up 8.1% from the same period the previous year. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had forecast $1.2 billion in quarterly profit. Sales for the quarter dipped 2.2% from a year ago to $26.79 billion, largely because the rising yen eroded the value of overseas earnings. If the yen's value had held at levels of a year ago, sales would... [read full story]