 |
|
Strong Financial Results for Fiscal Year 2003 Provide Solid Basis for Ongoing Corporate RenewalJune 30 , 2004
|
|
| Mitsubishi Fuso Truck & Bus Corporation (MFTBC) today announced its financial results on a consolidated basis for fiscal year 2003, which ended on March 31, 2004. The results clearly exceeded previous-year figures as well as the forecast for fiscal 2003 made 12 months ago. Truck and bus sales in Japan as well as overseas showed a strong growth in fiscal 2003 to reach 193,000 units in total, a 24% increase over the previous year,
The extraordinary result in Japan was largely boosted by the additional market demand created in fiscal 2003 by the enforcement of the strict NOx regulations particularly for the metropolitan areas. Strong financial results and balance sheet in fiscal year 2003 MFTBC consolidated net sales in fiscal 2003 rose to 894 billion yen (EUR 6.94 billion) from 724 billion in fiscal 2002. This translates into a 23% year-on-year increase and even exceeded the forecast of 790 billion yen by 13%. Operating profit on a consolidated basis increased nearly four-fold from 8.6 billion yen in fiscal 2002 to 32.4 billion yen (EUR 251 million) in fiscal 2003. Net Income likewise improved year-on-year significantly from 1.5 billion yen to 17.5 bn yen (EUR 136 million). MFTBC CEO and President Wilfried Porth said, “During our first year as an independent company, Mitsubishi Fuso was able to substantially improve its business performance. We kept our market-leading position in Japan, but also strengthened our business in overseas markets, which account for more than half of our global unit sales.” Figures for MFTBC on a non-consolidated basis also improved over the previous year. Net sales in fiscal 2003 reached 611 billion yen, ordinary income stood at 12.3 billion yen, while net income rose to 6.6 billion yen. Therefore the carried-forward loss of MFTBC non-consolidated was significantly reduced from 9.9 to 3.3 billion yen. The consolidated MFTBC also reduced its interest bearing-debt by 35% from 220.4 billion yen in fiscal 2002 to 143.1 billion yen (EUR 1.1 billion) at the end of fiscal 2003. MFTBC’s equity ratio on March 31, 2004, stood at 32%. Dieter Buhl, MFTBC’s newly appointed Chief Financial Officer as of June 1, said, “Our balance sheet is one of the strongest in the Japanese commercial vehicles industry and gives us a solid basis to surmount future financial challenges.” Radical clean-up of past quality issues Any financial forecast for fiscal 2004 has to take into account the specific situation MFTBC is facing currently in Japan. Since early this year the cover-up of past quality problems has been revealed. As a direct response, the new management of MFTBC has accelerated the enforcement of strict quality standards already initiated in early 2003 and implemented a radical clean-up of the past. After addressing various single issues over the previous months, the company announced the implementation of 43 recall and 4 improvement campaigns on June 14, addressing quality issues dating back more than 10 years. “We are fully committed to radically cleaning-up the past. We are creating a socially responsible company, respected by our customers for our high-quality products and by the society in general for a transparent corporate culture,” said Porth. The encompassing clean-up of the past poses an enormous challenge to the new Mitsubishi Fuso and will impact sales performance in Japan in fiscal year 2004. As the company regards safety and quality as its top priority, Mitsubishi Fuso is currently implementing various measures to quickly serve the needs of its customers and to regain their and the general public’s trust. “Our sound financial basis will help us to fully implement all measures that are necessary for our customers despite the short-term impact of this clean-up process,” Porth added. It is currently not possible to finally assess the financial and business impact of all quality related measures and issues. Against this background, MFTBC currently does not see itself in a position to provide a prudent business forecast and financial outlook for fiscal year 2004. However, it foresees a significant decline of the overall market in Japan as a result of the phase-out of the extraordinary effect of the new NOx-regulations of 2003. Full support by parent company DaimlerChrysler MFTBC is fully supported in this effort by its parent company DaimlerChrysler. DaimlerChrysler among other actions, has already sent a team of top engineers and technical experts from Germany to support Mitsubishi Fuso to secure optimal quality and swift implementation of all necessary measures. With the support of DaimlerChrysler, MFTBC is determined to overcome its current challenges. In addition to making quality and safety its number one priority, MFTBC remains committed to the following three mid-term key objectives as announced in 2003:
In March 2004, MFTBC became a fully consolidated subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler. By raising its share in MFTBC to 65%, DaimlerChrysler expressed its full long-term technical, managerial and financial commitment to Mitsubishi Fuso. As an integral part of DaimlerChrysler the largest global producer of commercial vehicles, MFTBC is better positioned than ever to master its current challenges and to compete in the highly competitive global truck and bus market in the long run. Note: Euro amounts are translated from yen for convenience only at the rate of 128.88 yen/euro, the exchange rate of March 31, 2004, the final day of the fiscal year 2003. |
|