Suzuki Q1 falls 20% on quake, keeps FY forecast
Suzuki Q1 falls 20% on quake, keeps FY forecast
Tokyo: Suzuki Motor Corp posted a 20% drop in quarterly operating profit as the 11 March earthquake hampered production, and stuck to its annual guidance for a small profit rise driven by the Indian market.
Suzuki, like other Japanese automakers, is looking to make up for production lost due to the March disaster in the second half of the business year, with plans to increase output for the full year.
The bigger worry for the maker of Swift and Alto cars is a slowdown in demand in its largest and most profitable market, India, where competition is also intensifying with global giants such as Toyota Motor Corp and Ford Motor Co entering the small-car segment.
Last week, local unit Maruti Suzuki India Ltd beat estimates with an 18% rise in first-quarter net profit, but warned of a challenging environment for car demand as interest rates and fuel prices rise.
Suzuki’s April-June operating profit was ¥25.57 billion ($331.5 million), nearly double the consensus estimate of ¥13.8 billion in a survey of seven analysts by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S, as its motorcycle business returned to profit for the first time in 11 quarters.
First-quarter net profit rose 24% to ¥18.73 billion as it booked a one-off extraordinary profit of ¥8.6 billion, mainly from the sale of a unit of former partner General Motors to GM’s Canadian unit.
The yen’s sharp appreciation, including against the Indian rupee, is also a drag, prompting Suzuki to join the chorus of complaints from Japanese automakers.
“It’s very sad that there is no one in Japan that is taking action against the yen’s strength," Suzuki Executive Vice President Toshihiro Suzuki told a news conference.
He said if the yen continued to rise further, the automaker may have to consider the option of shifting production outside Japan, repeating a warning from his father and Suzuki CEO, Osamu Suzuki.
Suzuki kept its full-year operating profit forecast at ¥110 billion, up 2.9% from last year, and net forecast at ¥50 billion. A poll of 19 analysts by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S put the annual operating profit at ¥105.7 billion.
VOLKSWAGEN TIES UP IN AIR
EVP Suzuki had little to say about a public tiff that has developed with top shareholder Volkswagen AG, which it recently accused of undermining its independence.
Suzuki last month lashed out at the German automaker for including a fine-print entry in its annual report that categorised Suzuki as an associate over which it could “significantly influence financial and operating policy decisions".
Volkswagen, in response, has denied that it was trying to send a coded message to assert its control, but admitted that plans to cooperate had sputtered, forcing a review of their 18-month-old partnership.
EVP Suzuki said the company would wait for Volkswagen to get in touch and explain its stance and intention after the summer break, repeating the Japanese automaker’s stance that being equal partners was the prerequisite for any cooperation.
Shares in Suzuki are down about 10% in the year to date, faring worse than a 6.5% fall in Tokyo’s transport sector subindex .
Before the results were announced, Suzuki shares ended down 2% at ¥1,739 on a broad sell-off in Japanese stocks.
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