Hino Motors has revealed it has taken some major financial hits as a result of the fuel efficiency and emission scandals the Toyota owned company has been embroiled in for the past year.
The company has told the Japanese markets that it expects to post a consolidated net loss for the current Japanese financial year, which ends on 31 March, of $AUD590 million (¥55 billion) , which will mean the truck maker will have been in the red for the third straight year.
to compound the confusion around d the performance of the company, the announcement of the losses follow Hino’s optimistic announcement back in October last year when it predicted a profit surge in the 2023 fiscal year and an operating profit for the current year.
In October last year Hino forecast a $AUD66 million (¥6 billion) operating profit for the fiscal year ending in March 2023, confounding analysts’ forecasts for the engine scandal loss .
However, it did not disclose operating income and net profit forecasts for the year, as it was unable to “reasonably” calculate losses attributed to the engine data scandal.
Hino also announced extraordinary losses for the first three quarters of the Japanese financial year, with the company registering domestic certification-related losses of the equivalent of $AUD 310 million (¥28,474 million) for the nine months up to the 31 December 2022.
Hino confirmed that the well publicised misconduct relating to the application for engine certification in the Japanese market, and problems with engine performances resulted in some massive costs including posting a recall cost of $AUD 44.38 million (¥4,072 million), the cost for additional tax payments as a result of the falsified exhaust gas and fuel efficiency declarations at around $AUD153 million (¥14,110 million),along with a loss for compensating suppliers, customers, and others of $AUD112.17 million (¥10,292 million), bringing the extraordinary costs to $AUD310 million .
The special losses are currently forecast go as high as$AUD 400 million (¥37.4 billion) for the full financial year, including $AUD200 million (¥19.2 billion) in compensation to parts suppliers and customers.
Hino’s chief financial officer, Yasushi Nakano said that the customer compensation costs may increase further and that the company hopes to announce a definite amount by the end of March.
The net loss projection does not reflect impacts of group lawsuits filed in the United States and Australia because they are ongoing, according to the company.
