Honda Announces Consolidated Financial Summary for the Fiscal 1st Quarter Ended June 30, 2008; All-time 1st Quarter Record for Consolidated Income before Income Taxes and Net Income

JCN Newswires, July 25, 2008

Tokyo, July 25, 2008 - (JCN Newswire) - Honda Motor Co., Ltd. announced its consolidated financial results for the fiscal first quarter ended June 30, 2008.

Consolidated net sales and other operating revenue amounted to JPY 2,867.2 billion, a decrease of 2.2% due to factors including the negative currency translation effect.

Consolidated operating income, which amounted to JPY 221.3 billion, remained at approximately the same level compared to the same quarter a year ago, due to a decrease in incentives for automobile business in North America, increased profit mostly from increased automobile unit sales, and cost reduction efforts, despite the negative impact of exchange rates, the impact of increased raw material costs, and increases in selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses.

Honda set an all-time record for the first quarter for income before income taxes and net income as well as an all-time record for any quarter for equity in income of affiliates.

At the board of directors meeting held today, Honda resolved to pay JPY 22 per share for the fiscal first quarter dividend with the record date of June 30, 2008. The total dividend to be paid for the entire fiscal year is expected to be JPY 88 per share.

Results for the Fiscal 1st Quarter Ended June 30, 2008

(*record high for the fiscal first quarter, **record high for any quarter)

                                                       JPY (billions)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
                                1st Quarter ended          Difference
                              6/30/07      6/30/08         (% change)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Net sales and other
 operating revenue            2,931.1      2,867.2       -63.9 (-2.2)
Operating income                221.6        221.3        -0.3 (-0.2)
Income before income taxes      218.2        235.0*       16.8 ( 7.7)
Equity in income of affiliates   37.0         38.1**       1.1 ( 3.2)
Net Income                      166.1        179.6*       13.4 ( 8.1)
Basic net income
 per common share JPY           91.38        98.98*       7.60 ( 8.3)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
(Honda's average rates: JPY 105 = U.S. dollar 1 / JPY 164 = Euro 1)

Consolidated unit sales: The motorcycle and automobile business set all-time record unit sales for the fiscal first quarter. (Consolidated unit sales are the total of sales of finished products of Honda and its consolidated subsidiaries, and sales of parts for local production at Honda's affiliates accounted for under the equity method.)

- Motorcycles: 2.715 million units ( 20.5%); the increase was due to increased sales in Asia and the "Other Region" which includes Brazil. (Unit sales of approximately 1.21 million units of Honda-brand motorcycle products are not included in the total listed above, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, because they are manufactured and sold by overseas affiliates accounted for under the equity method, but do not use any parts supplied by Honda and its consolidated subsidiaries.)

- Automobiles: 962 thousand units ( 1.7%); the tenth consecutive year for an increase was due to increased sales in Asia and the "Other Region" which includes Brazil.

- Power Products: 1.339 million units (-12.4%); the decrease was due mainly to decreased sales in North America and Europe.

Consolidated net sales and other operating revenue amounted to JPY 2,867.2 billion, a decrease of 2.2% due to factors including the negative currency translation effect.

Consolidated operating income, which amounted to JPY 221.3 billion, remained at approximately the same level compared to the same quarter a year ago, due to a decrease in incentives for automobile business in North America, increased profit mostly from increased automobile unit sales, and cost reduction efforts, despite the negative impact of exchange rates, the impact of increased raw material costs, and increases in selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expenses.

Consolidated income before income taxes totaled JPY 235.0 billion ( 7.7%), increasing in the fiscal first quarter for the third consecutive year.

Equity in income of affiliates totaled JPY 38.1 billion ( 3.2%), increasing in the fiscal first quarter for the ninth consecutive year and achieved an all-time record for any quarter due mainly to increased income of affiliates in China accounted for under the equity method.

Consolidated net income totaled JPY 179.6 billion ( 8.1%), increasing in the fiscal first quarter for the third consecutive year.

Forecasts for the Fiscal Year Ending March 31, 2009

Honda plans to sell 10.455 million units of motorcycles ( 12.2%), 4.08 million units of automobiles ( 3.9%) and 6.12 million units of power products ( 1.0%). (Unit sales of approximately 4.85 million units of Honda-brand motorcycle products are not included in this total, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, because they are manufactured and sold by overseas affiliates accounted for under the equity method, but do not use any parts supplied by Honda and its consolidated subsidiaries.)