Drop in sales in China hits profits for Japanese car maker Honda

Profits for the Japanese car maker slipped nearly 20% in the first half of the fiscal year on the same period last year, as sales suffered in China.

Honda saw profits between April and September totalled 494.68 billion yen (€2.9bn), falling from 616 billion yen for the same period the previous year, on 10.8 trillion yen (€64.7bn) in sales, up from 9.6 trillion yen.

Although Honda sold more motorcycles globally in the first fiscal half, boosted by healthy demand in Asia, its car sales fell, especially in China, company officials told reporters.

Warranty costs and expenses related to quality problems, as well as higher incentives, also chipped away at Honda's profits, while foreign exchange fluctuations added drag, according to Tokyo-based Honda. The company did not break down quarterly numbers.

Honda lowered its profit forecast for the fiscal year through March by 50 billion yen (€303m) to 950 billion yen (€5.7bn).

That’s lower than the 1.1 trillion yen (€6.6bn) Honda earned last fiscal year.

Domestic rival Toyota also reported a drop in profit earlier in the day.

Honda stock slipped 6.5%, while Toyota issues gained 1.7%.