Honda's sales, profit drop amid rising costs, chip shortages

Honda has reported its profit dropped 32% in the last quarter as rising material costs and a shortage of computer chips hurt the Japanese automaker

TOKYO -- Honda’s profit dropped 32% in the last quarter as rising material costs and a shortage of computer chips hurt the Japanese automaker.

Honda Motor Co.’s profit for the three months through December totaled 192.9 billion yen ($1.7 billion), down from 284 billion yen the year before, the Tokyo-based company said Wednesday.

Quarterly sales slipped 2% to 3.7 trillion yen ($32 billion).

Like the rest of the world’s automakers, Honda’s manufacturing also has been affected by delays due to measures to curb coronavirus outbreaks. Japan’s top automaker Toyota reported a similar drop in profit.