Weak Yen Leads Honda’s 3Q Operating Profit to Beat Expectations with 22% Increase

Japan’s Honda Motor Co announced on Friday that the operating profit rose 22% in the third quarter, higher than expected due to the weakening of Japanese yen that offset the raw material costs and a drop of vehicle production and sales amid a shortage of chip supply.

Operating profit for the three months ending December was 280.4 billion yen, compared with the average of 239.4 billion yen estimated by 11 analysts in Refinitiv and operating profit of the same period last year at 229.4 billion yen.

Honda stuck with its forecast that its annual operating profit would be 870 billion yen for the year through March.

Honda said that sales declined 8.7% around the world for the first nine months of its fiscal year, compared with the same period last year