Honda slashes forecast again, shares hit

By Chang-Ran Kim, Asia autos correspondent

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Honda Motor Co (7267.T) issued its third profit warning this year, slashing its operating forecast by two-thirds as the global recession batters car sales and sends the yen soaring.

The deeper-than-expected revision at Japan's No.2 automaker could touch off similar moves at domestic rivals Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and Nissan Motor Co (7201.T), also reeling from the dollar's fall to 13-year lows against the yen.

U.S.-traded shares of Honda (HMC.N) fell 7.9 percent to $21.05 at the opening. Toyota (TM.N) fell 2 percent to $68.34 while Nissan NSANY.O shed 5.9 percent to $6.88.

Automakers everywhere are under enormous pressure to cut costs and save cash to weather the storm as tight credit and weak consumer sentiment hammer demand.

In the United States, General Motors Corp GM.N and Chrysler LLC CBS.UL are awaiting word from the U.S. government on billions of dollars in emergency loans they say they need to avert near-term collapse.

Rating agency Standard & Poor's revised its Triple-A outlooks on Toyota's long-term debt to negative from stable, saying it was not immune to the weakening global auto market.

"The sudden change in the global auto industry from mid-September, triggered by the financial crisis, has forced all automakers to alter various plans over a short period of time," Honda Chief Executive Takeo Fukui told a news conference.

"The situation is worsening by the day and is showing no sign of recovery.

Honda, also the world's largest motorcycle maker, said it now expected an operating profit of just 180 billion yen ($2 billion) in the year to March, down 67 percent from the 550 billion yen it forecast in October.

The new target is more than 80 percent below last year's 953 billion yen operating profit and was worse than the 300 billion yen reported earlier by the Nikkei business daily.