Are good financial numbers ever a bad thing?


It appears that they can be, at least if you’re Yamaha Motors. The motorcycle manufacturer was spanked with a 10 per cent drop in their share value on the Tokyo stock exchange yesterday after turning a double-digit profit percentage in 2010, and anticipating a profit again in 2011.
It turns out that Asian investors aren’t impressed with the prospect of a 9.3 per cent net profit gain and a 3.3 per cent operating profit gain in an industry that’s hurting financially – they were hoping for better numbers in both categories.


Still, the profits must be encouraging for Yamaha, whose 2010 net profit (approximately $215.5M Canadian) was a lot better than its 2009 net loss of approximately $2.54B Canadian (numbers based on today’s exchange rate).
The Asian bike-buying boom, especially in Vietnam and Indonesia where Yamaha bikes rule the roost, helped the company see a 12.2 per cent increase in sales; Yamaha is investing heavily in its Indonesian motorcycle factory this year, but considering closing its Spanish plant, where labour costs are hurting profits.


What with a weak yen and Nikkei 225 stocks (of which Yamaha is one) still trading at pre-financial crisis levels, coupled with Yamaha Corp. shares that are artificially depressed, NOW is the perfect time to invest a few thousand in Yamaha stock. For once we can make money off Yamaha instead of vice versa.