Suzuki Reports 2012-2013 Fiscal Year Results

Suzuki reported an operating loss of 11.9 billion yen (US$117.1 million) from its motorcycle business for its fiscal year ended March 31, 2013. The loss stems from a 10.7% decrease in motorcycles sales and a 9.6% decline in motorcycle revenue from its 2012-2013 fiscal year.

According to Suzuki‘s year-end report, motorcycles accounted for 230.3 billion yen in sales revenue, down 254.8 billion yen reported the previous year. The drop in sales contributed to the 11.9 billion yen operating loss, compared to a loss of 2.4 billion yen reported in the 2011-2012 fiscal year.

Suzuki sold 2.312 million motorcycles in its fiscal year, a year-on-year decrease of 10.7% from 2.589 million motorcycles. North American sales were down 8.6%, decreasing to 44,000 units from 49,000 units the previous year.Sales were also down 8.6% in Asia, 3.0% in Japan and 28.7% in Europe where the overall economy continues to struggle.

The news looks all doom-and-gloom at the moment, but Suzuki is forecasting a big turnaround for the 2013-2014 fiscal year. Suzuki is forecasting a 16.3% increase in motorcycle sales to 2.679 million units. This includes a forecast of 60,000 units in North America, a big jump of 35.2% from this past fiscal year.

Suzuki is restructuring its motorcycle business in Asia by streamlining its development process and reducing the number of different engines shared across multiple models. Beyond Asia, Suzuki says it intends to strengthen its lineup of middle and large-sized motorcycles which are sold in other markets such as North America.

While its motorcycle division is struggling, Suzuki as a whole managed to increase its profit to an all-time company record of 80.4 billion yen (US$791.0 million) compared to a net income of 53.9 billion yen reported the previous year.

[Source: Suzuki]

By Dennis Chung