For the quarter ending March 31, Honda Motor Co. posted a loss, the company's first in 15 years, but still managed a profit for the entire fiscal year and projects profits for the new accounting year that opened on April 1.

Honda's posted operating loss was $2.91 billion as opposed to its $1.74 billion profit a year earlier. Global sales in the fourth quarter fell 35.3 percent with volume in North America falling by more than half to just 219,000 units sold as opposed to 459,000 in 2008.

In spite of operating losses in all major markets, Honda remains in far better shape than its American rivals, General Motors and Chrysler, who are fighting to stave off bankruptcy and gain more federal aid. Japanese competitor Toyota is expected to post a loss this month and to report a full-year loss for the first time since the company was founded in 1948.

Honda's Executive Vice President Koichi Kondo said the United States market is showing signs of bottoming out. In the coming year, Honda will aim to reinforce its operating profit by bringing research and development costs down by $433.8 million and trimming capital expenditures by as much as $4 billion.