Honda reports loss of Rs824m in Q4

Honda Atlas Car (HCAR) has announced a loss of Rs824 million in the fourth quarter of March 2023, a sharp decline from the Rs197 million profit recorded in the same period last year. The loss per share (LPS) for the quarter stood at Rs5.77, while the earnings per share (EPS) were Rs1.38 in the corresponding period of the previous year. The higherthan-expected other expenses, including exchange losses, were the main factors contributing to the largerthan-anticipated loss, according to Sunny Kumar, an analyst at Topline Securities.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Muhammad Abrar, an auto sector analyst at Arif Habib Limited (AHL), attributed the significant decline in profit to lower sales and increased finance costs. The overall earnings for March 2023 amounted to Rs1.8 per share, representing a 90% year-on-year decrease primarily due to a significant drop in sales resulting from import restrictions and other expenses, said Kumar. The company’s revenues declined by 27% year-on-year and 3% quarter-on-quarter to Rs22 billion in the fourth quarter of March 2023. AKD, auto sector analyst, Kainat Rohra explained that the substantial decrease in earnings in March 2023 was mainly due to rising other expenses, particularly driven by high exchange losses during the quarter.

The company reported higher-than-expected other charges of Rs3.38 billion in the fourth quarter, marking a 4.3-fold increase compared to the previous quarter. Total other charges for the year amounted to Rs4.9 billion, up four times from the previous year. The decline in earnings was primarily a result of a 51% year-on-year and 6% quarter-on-quarter decrease in volumetric sales.