Japan’s Hino Motors’ Fiscal Third-Quarter Profit Falls 45%

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Hino Motors Ltd., Japan’s largest maker of heavy-duty trucks, saw its fiscal third-quarter profit drop 45% as the company spent more to develop new models and expand production, Bloomberg reported.Net income fell to about $32.4 million for the period ended Dec. 31, from about $58.7 million a year earlier, while sales rose 4.3% to about $2.5 billion. The third-quarter figures were derived by subtracting first-half earnings from nine-month results released by the company Tuesday, Bloomberg reported.The Japanese domestic truck market is expected to shrink this year as fleet operators finish replacing their trucks to meet new emissions rules.To counter that, Hino, which is half-owned by Toyota Motor Corp., is targeting overseas markets including North America and the Middle East, where demand is stronger, Bloomberg said.