Japanese Automaker Subaru Sees Record April-June Profit at $778.6 Million
- Listed: 07/17/2014 12:33 am
- Expires: This ad has expired
Subaru maker sees record April-June profit at 80 billion yen
Date: Jul 17, 2014
Source: Nikkei
TOKYO — Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., the maker of Subaru cars, likely saw its operating profit climb 15% on the year to about 80 billion yen ($778.6 million) this past quarter, marking a record April-June high.
Strong North American sales and the weak yen helped the company make up for slow business in Japan.
Sales for the Forester SUV and other models shot up in North America, where about 60% of the company’s cars are sold. Fuji Heavy predicts that full-year sales in the region will grow 11% at 531,000 vehicles, but the numbers appear to be increasing faster than expected.
The weaker yen also lifted profit. The company exports over 70% of its output, and a drop of one yen against the dollar adds 9.2 billion yen to its annual profit. The rate for April-June was about 102 yen to the dollar, which was 4 yen weaker on the year, seen giving the manufacturer a close to 10 billion yen boost for the quarter. This, combined with cost-cutting measures, more than made up for an expanded budget for research and development as well as sales.
