Kazuhiro Noguchi

Sep 19, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Kazuhiro Noguchi

TOKYO -- Six out of seven major Japanese automakers are on track to set records for both capital expenditures and research and development spending this fiscal year as they prepare for an anticipated rise in demand for hybrids and electric vehicles. Company forecasts show total capital spending growing 20% to 4.29 trillion yen ($30 billion), beating last fiscal year's all-time high, while R&D spending is seen rising 13% to 3.86 trillion yen for a third straight record.

Jul 4, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Kazuhiro Noguchi

TOKYO -- Major Honda Motor shareholders, including Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance and MUFG Bank, will unload some 500 billion yen ($3.1 billion) of their stakes this month as they work to unwind cross-held shareholdings, the Japanese automaker announced Thursday. The offering price has not been set. But based on Honda's closing stock price of 1,791 yen as of Thursday and the amount to be unloaded, the sale will likely total around half a trillion yen.

Jun 24, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Kazuhiro Noguchi

TOKYO -- Nine of 12 top global automakers made more money per vehicle in fiscal 2023 than in the year before amid recovering supply chains and rising sales prices, with Tesla at the head of the pack. Nikkei divided net profit by the number of vehicles sold globally in QUICK-FactSet data for the world's top 10 top-selling automakers, plus leading electric-vehicle companies Tesla and BYD.

May 24, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Kazuhiro Noguchi

TOKYO -- Management buyouts (MBO) in Japan quintupled to an all-time high of 1.47 trillion yen ($9.7 billion) in value terms last fiscal year, as a growing number of companies go private to embark on management reforms amid a push by the Tokyo Stock Exchange to boost share prices and valuations. There were 18 MBOs in fiscal 2023, six more than in the previous year and the highest level in 13 years, according to Japanese mergers and acquisitions research company Recof Data.

May 15, 2024 | asia.nikkei.com | Kazuhiro Noguchi

TOKYO -- Combined net profit at big Japanese companies is forecast to fall 4% this fiscal year, the first drop in five years, corporate earnings outlooks show, due in part to a slowdown in China and Europe and conservative yen exchange-rate assumptions. The decline would follow a 18% jump in fiscal 2023 to a third straight record high of 45.3 trillion yen ($292 billion), boosted by a weakening yen and a recovery in production, mainly in the auto industry.