TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday that its consolidated revenue and profits in April-June climbed to their highest levels for the fiscal first quarter, supported by a weaker yen and cost cuts.
Vehicle sales were sluggish in Japan because of testing scandals involving the Japanese automaker and subsidiary Daihatsu Motor Co. But sales in North America and Europe grew.
Toyota’s operating profit surged 16.7 percent from a year earlier to 1,308.4 billion yen. The company’s net profit rose 1.7 percent to 1,333.3 billion yen and its revenue climbed 12.2 percent to 11,837.8 billion yen.
The yen’s depreciation helped to boost Toyota’s operating profit by 370 billion yen.
Total vehicle sales, including those at subsidiaries, fell 4.2 percent to 2,636,000 units. But sales of hybrid vehicles were brisk in North America and Asia.
Vehicle sales in Japan fell by about 20 percent to 420,000 units. Daihatsu continued to suspend production due to the scandal, and Toyota halted production of some models.
“While we failed to maintain stable production in Japan, we achieved higher profits thanks to everyone concerned, including suppliers and dealers,” Masahiro Yamamoto, chief officer at Toyota’s accounting group, told reporters.
Toyota kept its earnings forecasts for the full year ending March 2025. Its operating profit is estimated to fall 19.7 percent from the previous year to 4.3 trillion yen. The impact of newly discovered test fraud cases is minor, Toyota officials said.
The automaker is considering raising its annual spending on human resources by around 50 billion yen from the currently planned 380 billion yen.
It kept intact its foreign exchange rate estimates at 145 yen per dollar and 160 yen per euro.
JIJI Press