Fuji Heavy Industries has increased annual operating profit 38.8% to 58.3bn yen for the financial year ended 31 March 2006.
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The profit increase was helped by a weaker yen but the company has forecast a drop in profit this year. According to Reuters, Fuji is particularly exposed to swings in the dollar’s value since North America accounts for more than a third of its sales.
Net profit for 2005/06 fell 14.4% to 15.6bn yen, partly due to a one-off charge related to workforce reductions as part of the company’s on-going restructuring.
Revenues were 1.476 trillion yen (US$13.2bn) in 2005/6, a figure that Fuji expects to increase by 5% this year to 1.55 trillion yen.
Toyota took an 8.7% stake in Fuji from General Motors last year, and this should help the company reduce production costs and inefficiencies.
The first joint project between the two companies will be the production of Toyota’s Camry at Subaru’s plant in the US from the spring of 2007, supplementing existing output from plants in the US and Japan.
According to Reuters, outgoing president Kyoji Takenaka has said that the financial benefits of any joint projects would take a few years to come to fruition.
From 27 June, Takenaka will be replaced by Ikuo Mori as president and CEO while Takenaka will stay on in an advisory role. Mori has worked Fuji since 1970. Most recently he headed up Subaru’s overseas sales and marketing.
