TOKYO – Honda Motor posted its first annual loss in nearly 70 years as a listed company on May 14, hit by US tariffs and more than US$9 billion (S$11.5 billion) in costs to restructure its electric-vehicle business.
Its operating loss totalled 414.3 billion yen (S$3.3 billion) for the year ended March, compared with a median estimate of a 315.6 billion yen loss in a poll of 22 analysts by LSEG and a 1.2 trillion yen profit a year earlier.
Japan’s second-largest automaker booked total EV-related losses of 1.45 trillion yen for the business year ended March and expected to face additional costs of 500 billion yen for the year just started.
The company still expects to return to profitability this year, forecasting a 500 billion yen profit on cost-reduction measures and its profitable motorcycle business. REUTERS
