Toyota’s profit beats estimates
Toyota Motor Corp.’s quarterly profit topped analysts’ estimates thanks to healthy sales of RAV4s in the U.S. and Corollas at home, keeping the Japanese automaker’s business on track amid sputtering global demand for cars.
Operating income for the fiscal second quarter that ended in September was 662 billion yen, helped by cost controls that paved the way for a 200 billion yen ($1.8 billion) share buyback. Analysts had predicted, on average, profit of 604 billion yen. The shares rose 1.1 percent after the results, leaving the stock up 21 percent this year.
The maker of Prius hybrids and Tacoma trucks joins Tesla Inc., Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG in reporting betterthan-anticipated results, even as vehicle sales weaken across the globe. Toyota’s results contrast with other Japanese automakers, which are being hurt by a stronger yen that’s eroding income brought home. Cost controls have helped Toyota maintain profits ahead of analysts’ projections, even while it invests heavily in an industry undergoing a tectonic shift to electrification and self-driving automobiles.
Revenue for the latest quarter rose 4.5 percent to 7.64 trillion yen. North American vehicle sales climbed 5.6 percent from a year earlier, thanks to new models that helped to boost shipments even as incentives were cut back. Japanese sales rose as well, to 585,000 units. Asia, usually an area of robust growth, grew just 3.3 percent.