TOKYO (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co <7267.T> on Tuesday lowered its annual profit forecasts as a deepening financial crisis hammers global car demand and sends the yen soaring against major currencies.
Japan's second-biggest automaker now expects a net profit for the business year to March 31, 2009 of 485 billion yen ($5.2 billion) compared with its previous forecast of 490 billion yen.
Eleven brokerages had forecast an average 503 billion yen, although that consensus came before the yen's rapid rise in the last few days.
Honda is considered one of the best-placed among global automakers to weather the storm of collapsing car demand and shrinking margins thanks to its manufacturing flexibility and vehicle line-up geared toward fuel-efficient models.
In the United States, Detroit's loss-making General Motors Corp
Domestic rivals Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T> and Nissan Motor Co <7201.T> are expected to post even bigger falls as sales of SUVs and pickup trucks plunge.
Honda now expects operating profit, which excludes earnings from China, of 550 billion yen instead of 630 billion yen.
In the April-September first-half, Honda's net profit fell 19.1 percent to 302.9 billion yen and operating profit declined 27.1 percent to 370.2 billion yen.
(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim; Editing by Lincoln Feast)
