Trio of Japanese automakers lift forecasts

Suzuki Motor said net profit fell 63 percent in the fiscal first half from a year earlier to 12.5 billion yen (US$140 million), due to weak sales.

But the manufacturer of small cars and motorcycles boosted its forecast for the rest of the financial year to March 2010, saying the interim results were not as bad as expected, partly due to cost cuts.

Suzuki, which owns a major stake in India's largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India, projected an annual net profit of 15 billion yen, up from a 5.0 billion yen profit it had forecast in May.

“I think we still have a good chance to grow in India and China,” Suzuki chairman and president Osamu Suzuki told a news conference.

Fuji Heavy, the maker of Subaru brand vehicles, posted a net loss of 21.7 billion yen for the fiscal first half to September, against a year-earlier profit of 4.40 billion yen.

At the same time the company, part owned by Toyota Motor, narrowed its net loss forecast for the full fiscal year to 25 billion yen from 55 billion yen.

Daihatsu Motor Co., a small car making subsidiary of Toyota, said net profit fell 60 percent during the six months to September, to 6.8 billion yen.

But it boosted its net profit forecast for the full year to 13 billion yen, up from an earlier target of 8.0 billion yen.

The trio followed Honda Motor in upgrading their outlooks for the rest of the year, helped by government incentives in the United States, Europe and Japan for people to trade in their cars for more fuel-efficient new vehicles.

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