Yamaha reports record earnings in ’05

Japan’s Yamaha Motor Co. Ltd. celebrated its fifth straight year of record earnings.
The company said net income for the 12 months ended Dec. 31, 2005, totaled 64 billion yen ($538 million), up from net income of 60 billion yen ($504 million) the company originally had forecast.
Yamaha’s operating profit for the 12-month period was 103.3 billion yen ($868 million), up from an earlier estimate of 101 billion yen ($849 million), and sales were 1.38 trillion yen ($11.6 billion), up from a forecast of 1.32 trillion yen ($11.1 billion).
No year-on-year comparisons are available as Yamaha for the first time reported earnings based on the calendar year.
Yamaha Motor and some of its consolidated subsidiaries changed their fiscal year-end from March 31 to Dec. 31, resulting in an irregular nine-month accounting term for the fiscal period ended Dec. 31, 2004. The period was April through December for the company and some of its consolidated subsidiaries — mainly in Japan and North America — and January through December for other consolidated subsidiaries, principally in Asia and Europe.
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Yamaha, which derives about 56 percent of sales from its motorcycle business, said company revenue in 2005 was buoyed by increased motorcycle interest in Asia and Latin America and higher sales of ATVs and marine product in the United States.
The company sold 3.85 million motorcycles in 2005, of which 2.73 million were sold in Asia, 421,000 units were sold in Europe, 223,000 units were sold in the United States and 311,000 units were sold in other areas. It sold approximately 285,000 ATVs, 4 percent more than during the prior 12-month period.
Broken down by business segment, motorcycle sales increased 19.2 percent from the same period of the previous year, to 759.8 billion yen ($6.3 billion); sales of marine products rose 10 percent to 249.8 billion yen ($2.1 billion); sales of power products climbed 14.9 percent to 227.2 billion yen ($1.9 billion); and sales in Yamaha’s “other products” segment went up 20.8 percent to 138.5 billion yen ($1.1 billion).
With regard to profit, operating income for motorcycles was 33.2 billion yen ($279 million), up 26.6 percent from the same period in the previous year; operating income for marine products was 24.7 billion yen ($207 million), up 22.4 percent; operating income for power products was 26.9 billion yen ($226 million); and operating income for Yamaha’s “other products” segment was 18.6 billion yen ($156 million), up 16.7 percent.
In terms of manufacturing, Yamaha said the number of large motorcycles produced for export to the United States increased, reflecting stronger sales. Meanwhile, the number of motorcycles produced by the company’s subsidiaries in Indonesia, Thailand and elsewhere in Asia, as well as in Latin America, also rose substantially because of robust sales.
In marine product manufacturing, outboard motor unit production expanded, centering on large models with less environmental impact, for Europe and the United States. Concerning the power product business, Yamaha said increases were experienced in the production of side-by-side vehicles destined for the United States.
For this year, Yamaha plans sales of 1.45 trillion yen ($12.2 billion), operating profit of 115 billion yen ($967 million) and net income of 65 billion yen ($547 million). The company expects sales of 4.55 million motorcycles and 274,000 ATVs. psb