TOKYO (Reuters) - Subaru Corp slashed its full-year outlook on Thursday by 16 percent as the Japanese automaker struggled with production issues stemming from a defect in one of its components.
Japan's sixth largest automaker said it now expects a full-year operating profit of 185 billion yen ($1.68 billion), instead of a previously expected 220 billion yen.
For the October-December quarter, it posted a profit of 98.7 billion yen, up nearly 5 percent from 94.2 billion yen in the same period a year earlier and exceeding the 93.57 billion yen average of 10 analyst estimates, according to Refinitiv data.
During the quarter, vehicle sales in the United States came in around 193,700 units, up from 175,800 units a year ago, nudging up global sales to around 280,000 units, up slightly from 270,600 units last year.
Subaru has been hit by a series of production issues ranging from faulty components to inspection do-overs which have stemmed from improper final tests on cars sold in the domestic market.
Last month, the maker of the Legacy sedan and the Forester SUV crossover halted production at its sole car factory in Japan for nearly two weeks, holding up roughly 60 percent of its global output after it found a suspected defect in a power steering component.
More From This Section
Subaru said on Thursday it expects production delays at the Japan plant to be cleared by end-March.
($1 = 109.9500 yen)
(Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)