Honda, Nissan see flickers of hope

Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan announced Wednesday another set of dismal earnings but said they saw glimmers of hope for the gloom-ridden industry thanks to growing interest in fuel-efficient cars.

The two companies blamed weak sales in key markets such as the United States, Japan and Europe for another tough quarter.

Honda said its net profit dived 95.6 percent in the April-June period from a year earlier to 7.56 billion yen ($ 80 million). Revenue slid 30.2 percent to 2.0 trillion yen, weighed down by a stronger yen.

But Honda upgraded its outlook for the full year to March, forecasting a net profit of 55 billion yen, against an earlier goal of 40 billion yen.

"While we cannot say yet that the North American market has recovered, sales are picking up this past month," helped by government economic stimulus measures, said Honda vice president Koichi Kondo.

Nissan, which is axing 20,000 jobs to cope with the global economic crisis, logged a net loss of 16.53 billion yen ($ 175 million) for the April-June quarter, against a year-earlier profit of 52.80 billion yen.

But it eked out a better-than-expected operating profit of 11.6 billion yen in the quarter. TOKYO, AFP