Toyota, the world’s biggest car maker by volume, saw its net income almost double in the first quarter as the effects of a weaker yen filtered through to company balance sheets.
The company said on Friday (2 August) it now expects to make a net profit of JPY1.48tn (US$14.8bn) for the current financial year, up from its earlier projection of JPY1.37tn. It is sticking by its May forecast that it will sell 9.1m vehicles in the current financial year.
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The quarterly rise in net income to JPY562bn came despite sales falling 1.6% to 2.2m vehicles, down 36,700 on the same quarter last year. The fall was largely as the result of the ending of a subsidy programme in Japan aimed at encouraging people to buy more fuel efficient cars.
The company said operating income increased by JPY310.2bn. Major factors contributing to the increase included currency fluctuations of JPY260bn and cost reduction efforts of JPY70bn.
“Operating income increased due to the impact of foreign exchange rates and our global efforts for profit improvement, through cost reduction activities such as companywide value analysis, and through marketing activities such as enhancement of the model mix and pricing,” said TMC managing officer Takuo Sasaki.
The yen has fallen 25% against the US dollar since last November.
