Suzuki Reports Q1 2013-2014 Results

Suzuki reported an 18.5% increase in net sales from its motorcycle business in its first quarter ended June 30, 2013. Suzuki reports sales of 70.5 billion yen (US$710.1 million) from its motorcycle business, an increase from 59.5 billion yen reported in the same quarter last year.

Unfortunately, despite increasing revenue, Suzuki’s motorcycle operations still remains in the red, operating at a loss of 2.7 billion yen (US$27.2 million) compared to a loss of 3.5 billion yen in the first quarter last year. In other words, an 11.0 billion yen increase in sales translated to just an 800 million yen improvement on the bottom line. Suzuki blamed much of the loss on difficulty maximizing profits in Asia.

Suzuki reported sales of 514,000 motorcycles over its first quarter, a 10.2% decrease from the 572,000 sold in the same period last year. North American consumers accounted for sales of 14,000 motorcycles and scooters, a slight year-over-year drop from 15,000. Sales in Japan also saw a decrease to 18,000 from 19,000 units. The Asian market was even more disappointing, with Suzuki reporting a 10.4% decline in sales to 496,000 from 553,000.

The lone good news is a slight improvement in sales in Europe. Suzuki sold 18,000 motorcycles and scooters in Europe, up 1.4% last year despite a weak economy.

Overall, Suzuki Motor Corporation reported a net income of 27.0 billion yen (US$272.1 million yen) compared to 24.5 billion yen reported the same period last year. Most of the gain is credited to a record first quarter operating income of 44.8 billion yen from Suzuki’s automobile business. This record figure came despite Suzuki’s departure from the North American automobile industry.

Looking forward, Suzuki forecasts sales of 2.351 million motorcycles by the end of its fiscal year, an improvement from 2.333 million sold the previous period. The forecast includes sales of 56,000 units in North America, which would be a bold improvement of 26.2% from the 44,000 units sold last year.

[Source: Suzuki]