Toyota Motor Corporation Australia (TMCA), now well freed of the shackles of local manufacturing, has posted an after-tax profit of A$206m for the year ending 31 March 2019.
This compared nicely with last fiscal year's after tax of $137m.
Now comprising Toyota Australia and Lexus Australia distribution, marketing and support operations, TMCA sold 223,096 vehicles during the fiscal 2018/19 year.
President and CEO Matthew Callachor said: "This is our first full year trading as a sales and distribution company [the company ended 54 years of KD assembly and full manufacture in 2017], and Toyota market share increased from 18.2% in 2017 to 18.8% in 2018, which is quite a remarkable result considering the market decline in the second half of the financial year."
In 2018, Toyota Australia was market leader for the 16th consecutive year in a row with the Hilux truck named Australia's best-selling vehicle for the third year running, followed closely by the redesigned Corolla hatchback the country's most popular passenger car.
Profit rose even though total unit sales volume decreased, mainly due to the loss of export sales following the closure of local manufacturing of the Camry and derivatives.
"This puts Toyota Australia in an optimum position as it invests in projects to transition from a car company to a true mobility company. The increase in profitability was facilitated by a significant reduction in manufacturing closure costs in FY19," it said in a statment.
