TOYOTA Q1 NET PROFIT JUMPS TO 613B YEN
Vehicle sales hit 2.59m units on stronger demand in Japan, North America, Europe
TOKYO
OYOTA Motor Corp said yesterday its fiscal first quarter net profit jumped 11 per cent with vehicle sales up in Japan and the United States, while it also lifted its annual earnings forecast.
The Corolla and Prius hybrid maker posted a net profit of 613 billion yen (RM23.96 billion) in the three months to June as revenue rose 7.0 per cent to 7.05 trillion yen.
Quarterly operating profit, however, fell nearly 11 per cent to 574.3 billion yen, partly due to currency fluctuations, it said.
Toyota, which lost its crown as the world’s top-selling carmaker last year, now expects profit for the year to March next year to come in at 1.75 trillion yen, up from an earlier 1.5 trillion yen forecast, as it forecast a downturn in the yen.
Vehicle sales were 2.59 million units in the quarter, slightly up from 2.52 million units a year ago.
Demand rose in North America, Europe, Central and South America, Africa and the Middle East. Sales also rose in Toyota’s home market, Japan, but they fell in the rest of Asia.
The car giant last year suffered its first drop in annual profit in five years, as it pointed to the cost of customer incentives in the key US market.
Quarterly operating profit in the North American market tumbled by nearly half from a year ago due to marketing costs, which can include low-interest financing, cash-back rebates and other perks. AFP