August 13, 2007 – Honda’s North American cycle sales dip 17 percent

Honda Motor Co. is reporting increased revenue and earnings for its first quarter despite reduced North American motorcycle, ATV and PWC sales.
The manufacturer’s North American new cycle sales slipped 17 percent in its first quarter, which ended June 30. The total amount of cycle sales of 44,000 represents the fewest first-quarter North American sales for Honda in at least five years. Honda’s motorcycle segment, which also includes ATVs and PWC, was down overall. Sales of its cycles, quads and PWC accounted for 80,000 units, a decrease of 10 percent compared to last year.
But thanks to strong auto sales, Honda reported a company-wide revenue increase of nearly 13 percent. However, the company said its net sales increase would be only approximately 6 percent if calculated at the same exchange rate as the corresponding period in 2006.
Honda’s overall net income rose 15.8 percent to $1.3 billion as its new auto sales rose in North America (2 percent), Asia (22 percent) and Europe (29.5 percent).
Motorcycle Segment
Even though Honda’s motorcycle segment sales were down 5.3 percent worldwide, its segment revenue actually increased. Quarterly revenue amounted to $2.9 billion, which was nearly a 19 percent increase over last year’s first quarter, thanks primarily to the positive impact of currency translation effects.
North American cycle segment sales totaled more than $468 million, which made up about 15 percent of Honda’s worldwide cycle segment sales.
Besides North America, Honda also reported softer motorcycle sales in Europe (down 9 percent compared to the past-year period), Japan (5.6 percent) and Asia (11.5 percent). Sales in Latin America did increase, however.
Looking ahead, Honda expects its first-half revenue to increase 17 percent over last year and its net income to be up 29 percent. For its fiscal year, Honda predicts increases in its revenue (11.4 percent) and net income (5.5 percent). psb