Suzuki’s 1Q sales, profits up – August 14, 2006

Japan’s Suzuki Motor Corp. said net income for its first quarter ended June 30 was 20.2 billion yen ($176 million), up 20.4 percent from the 16.8 billion yen of net income recorded in the same three-month period last year.
Benefiting from increased motorcycle sales in the United States and Europe as well as an exploding minivehicle market in Japan and India, the company’s first-quarter sales were 763.84 billion yen, a 19.8 percent increase from the same period last year.
The automobile, powersports and marine manufacturer sold 533,000 vehicles during the three-month period, up 8.4 percent from a year earlier.
For the fiscal year ending in March 2007, Suzuki expects net profit of 66 billion yen on sales of 2.8 trillion yen. The company plans a 7 percent increase in global sales to 2.21 million units. psb