Honda said consolidated net sales and other operating revenue for the quarter amounted to JPY 2,073.1 billion ($19.120 billion), increased by 3.2% over the corresponding period in 2003. The company said revenue was negatively affected by currency translation, which was caused by the translation of foreign currency denominated revenue from Honda's overseas subsidiaries into yen. Honda estimates that if the exchange rate of yen had remained unchanged from that in the corresponding period in 2003, revenue for the quarter would have increased by approximately 7.7%.

Consolidated operating income for the fiscal first quarter totaled JPY 159.9 billion ($1.476 billion), an increase of 0.3% compared to the corresponding period in 2003. This increase in operating income was due primarily to an increase in revenue contributed by higher unit sales of automobiles, motorcycles and power products and ongoing cost reduction effects, which offset the negative effects of the depreciation of the U.S. dollar, according to the manufacturer.

Honda said motorcycle unit sales increased by 29.0% to 2.58 million units, increasing revenue 13.5% to JPY 274.0 billion ($2.528 billion). Exported unit sales increased 30.3% to nearly 2.49 million units.

Although Honda’s North American unit sales in motorcycles and power products increased, the company said total revenue from its main market decreased 6.4% from the corresponding period of the previous year to JPY 1,134.6 billion ($10.464 billion) due to negative currency translation effects. Operating income also decreased by 25.8% to JPY 80.6 billion ($744 million) from the previous year.