PH2: Yamaha in the black

Sales down, but income up at Yamaha

By Jon Urry / Thursday, 16 February 2012 / Loading comments

Yamaha Motor Company has suffered a torrid time over the past few years, but it looks as though some drastic cost cutting measures may have helped it turn the corner.

The company has just announced its 2011 figures and, despite net sales of motorcycles and outboard motors dropping 1.4 per cent to 1,276.2 billion yen (£10.3bn), cost-cutting measures and structural reforms have seen the company's net income increase 47.3 per cent to 27 billion yen (£219m). That's the good news...

The bad news is that Yamaha is predicting a 17 billion yen (£138m) or 36.9 per cent drop in net income for 2012, despite a sales increase of 9.7 per cent from emerging markets.

Where is the money going? According to Yamaha, mainly on R&D aimed at future growth. Hopefully that means some new models, but most likely it will involve small-capacity machines for emerging nations such as Asia and Central and Southern America.