Honda forecasts 68% drop in annual profit as it anticipates hit from coronavirus

TOKYO: Honda Motor Co on Wednesday forecast a 68% fall in annual operating profit as it anticipates a hit from falling sales as demand for cars has plunged due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Japan's No. 3 automaker expects profit to sink to 200 billion yen ($1.89 billion) in the year to end-March 2021, worse than a consensus mean estimate of 260 billion yen in profit from 19 analysts polled by Refinitiv.

Honda's outlook comes after it posted a 113.7 billion yen operating loss for the April-June quarter, stung by weak car sales.