Honda reported significantly improved Q4 and full year profits today based on a weak yen and strong auto sales around the world.
Honda rode the benefits of its own peculiar “double play” of a weak yen and strong sales to an impressive fourth quarter result. However, the positive impact of the yen is going to decline going forward, the company said.
The automaker reported a quarterly profit of $1.67 billion (170.5 billion yen) compared with less than $800 million (75.5 billion yen) during the same period a year ago. Honda reported sales increased 13% to $30 billion, or 3.1 trillion yen.
Japanese buyers seeking to beat an April 1 rise in sales taxes helped push Honda to 1.2 million vehicles sold during the quarter, which was nearly 200,000 units more than last year.
The Tokyo-based automaker expects to 4.83 million vehicles globally for the fiscal year ending March 2015. It sold 4.3 million vehicles for the fiscal year ended March 2014.
(After missteps, Daimler hopes to rebound in China. For more, Click Here.)
For the year, Honda recorded a profit of $5.6 billion, or 574 billion yen, which is up nearly 36% from the previous year. The Japanese maker expects a profit of $5.8 billion (595 billion yen), a 21% increase, for next year.
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Honda was not the only Japanese maker enjoying the benefits of a weak yen.
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Mitsubishi Motors Corp recorded a record high operating profit for the year of $1.2 billion, or 123.4 billion yen.
The maker’s global sales, which have rebounded in most markets, were helped the yen, which against the U.S. dollar alone, has fallen about 10% since April last year.