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Honda posts record profit, issues cautious forecasts

MANILA, Philippines — Original Pilipino Music (OPM) band Ben&Ben released their new single “Comets. “

In a closed door interview with Philstar.com, one of the band’s vocalists, Paolo Benjamin, said that the song is about the people who entered in someone’s life but didn’t mean to stay. 

“Isa siyang kanta tungkol sa memories. Isa siyang kanta sa mga taong du madaan sa buhay natin pero hindi meant to stay,” Paolo said.  

“Na-inspire po siya ng experiences namin specifically nong nakatira pa kami sa isang bahay no’ng pandemic,” he added. 

Paolo’s twin brother and fellow vocalist, Miguel Benjamin, said that the song is now four years old but they just released it now.  

“Four years na ‘tong song na ‘to na matagal nang hinihintay ng Liwanags and finally mailalabas na siya. Parang timing lang din. Naramdaman namin na hindi pa kaya nakatabi lang siya,” Miguel said. 

“Kailangan ‘pag kumakanta ka ng song parang… Mahalaga sa amin ‘yung naranasan namin s’ya, kasi paano mo icocomunnicate sa ibang tao kung ikaw mismo di mo pa s’ya gets.

“Sa mga napagdaanan namin ng past four years ma halagang bahagi ‘yun kung bakit gan’un katagal ‘yung hinintay bago s’ya ilabas.”

The Filipino band admitted that it’s one of the songs that they’ve spent the longest trying to fine tune and play around with, in terms of arrangement and song structure. 

Eventually, Ben&Ben found the right musical direction and vision for the song, pulling from their own experience of loss to settle on a version that they’re most comfortable working with.

The band eventually recruited Indonesian producer Petra Sihombing to be part of the project, adding final but pivotal touches to the track.

“He flew in to help us bring the song to the next level, with his own additions in both the arrangement and post production of the track,” the nine-piece collective recounted. 

“The band probably had about 90% of the song down, but it was Petra’s very weighty 10% that really helped make the song what it is now.”

Ben&Ben’s “Comets” is out now on all digital music platforms worldwide via Sony Music Entertainment.

RELATED: ’10/10 for audience impact’: Ben&Ben praises ‘One More Chance: The Musical’

TOKYO, Japan — Japanese auto giant Honda on Friday logged a record annual profit thanks to improving global vehicle sales, but issued a cautious outlook for the current fiscal year.

The company said net profit for the year to March soared 70 percent to 1.1 trillion yen ($7.1 billion) on sales of 20.4 trillion yen, up 20.8 percent from the previous year.

Honda has made big outlays as it aggressively pursues a target set three years ago of achieving 100 percent electric vehicle sales by 2040.

Its 2023-24 results come two weeks after it announced the largest automotive investment in Canada’s history for a new US$11 billion EV battery and vehicle assembly plant.

The company already has a partnership in electric vehicles with Sony, and is exploring collaboration with arch-rival Nissan as they face a “once-in-a-century” upheaval in the car industry — a move analysts say is aimed at catching up with Chinese EV competitors.

On Friday, Honda said global vehicle sales were up, thanks largely to its vehicles’ popularity in the United States.

Sales volume was down in China, however, while its motorcycle division’s robust sales in India and Brazil offset falls in Vietnam.

Price increases and the weak yen boosted profits overall, Honda said.

For the year to March 2025, the company expects net profit to fall 9.7 percent to 1.0 trillion yen on sales of 20.3 trillion yen, down 0.6 percent.

Rising costs and changes to forex rates may put pressure on company results going forward, it said.

Vehicle sales in the United States and the Japanese markets are expected to grow, Honda said, but it predicted sales in the rest of Asia would ease.

Nissan on Thursday said it had nearly doubled its 2023-24 net profit, weathering challenges in the Chinese market, but forecast a dip of around 10 percent for 2024-25.

Toyota, the world’s top-selling automaker, also posted a record annual net profit this week.

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