Honda Atlas profit plunges 90pc

KARACHI: Honda Atlas Cars (Pakistan) Ltd, one of the top auto manufacturers in the country, on Friday reported a 90 percent drop in its full-year net profit, owing to an increase in expenses.

In a statement to the Pakistan Stock Exchange, the company reported a net profit of Rs260.141 million for the year that ended March 31, down from Rs2.509 billion the previous year. The company skipped any payout for the said period. Earnings per share came in at Rs1.82/share, compared with Rs17.58/share last year.

The company said its revenue for the year dropped to Rs95.087 billion, compared with Rs108.047 billion a year earlier. Its cost of sales remained at 87.926 billion from Rs102.515 billion during the same period last year.

Honda said its other income for the period rose to Rs2.321 billion, compared with Rs2.004 billion the previous year. Other expenses rose to Rs4.929 billion from Rs984.045 million, which affected the profit margins. Brokerage Arif Habib Ltd said the significant decline in profit was attributed to lower volumetric sales and higher finance costs, which were recorded up by 6.5x on a year-on-year basis.