Full-year results to the end of March for the world’s biggest bike brand were yet another display of unassailable superiority. BDN financial editor Roger Willis reports.
Honda’s annual motorcycle business revenue increased remorselessly, 33.1% up to £17.203bn. Operating profit climbed by 56.9% year-on-year to £2.891bn. Operating margin rose to 16.8% from 14.3%. To underline such absolute domination for powered two-wheelers, turnover from parallel Honda car production was nearly four times larger at £63.9bn but yielded only a slimline £249m operating profit.
The driving force had been global unit wholesale growth of 10.2% to 18.757 million Honda-branded bikes during the 12 months. Some 12.161 million of these were made by wholly-owned subsidiaries, the rest by joint-venture affiliates.
Vast emerging Asian markets led the way, rising by 10.4% to 16.108 million machines sold. Astra Honda in Indonesia, a JV partnership with British overseas trading conglomerate Jardine Matheson, was leading contributor, its output improving by 15.7% to 4.48 million despite ongoing semiconductor shortages.
Honda-owned factories in India were close behind, together boasting a 16% advance to 4.025 million. Subsidiary plants in Vietnam and Thailand followed, respectively 16.3% up to 2.407 million and 25.1% up to 1.456 million.
Other emerging regions accounted for a 10.9% improvement to 1.597 million. Within those, Honda’s Brazilian production hub at Manaus put on 15.4% to 1.125 million. In more profitable developed-world markets, North America topped the pile, 5% higher to 459,000. European sales improved by 9.5% to 347,000. Japanese domestic numbers were almost flat, though, 0.8% up to 246,000.
Forecasts for the new fiscal year to March 2024 are surprisingly modest. Honda estimates that its total motorcycle unit sales will rise by a mere 2.3% to 19.18 million. Asia will grow by only 1.7% to 16.375 million and other emerging regions by just 2.1% to 1.63 million. However, developed markets should do better. The prediction for Europe is a 25.4% rise to 435,000. North America will be 2.4% up to 470,000 and Japan is set to recover by 9.8% to 270,000.
Yen-Sterling currency translation at forex rates applicable on 11 May.