Toyota Motor announced at its annual general meeting (AGM) it expected to remain profitable in the current fiscal year ending 31 March 2021, thanks to years of cost cutting and efficiency drive.
Chief executive officer Akio Toyoda reassured a much reduced shareholder turnout the automaker would finish the year in the black even if the coronavirus crisis "exceeds the Lehman shock" which triggered the 2008 global financial crisis.
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Speaking at the company's headquarters in Aichi prefecture, Toyoda added "we are sure of posting an operating profit in fiscal 2020 through next March" and claimed "undoubtedly Toyota has become stronger".
On the release of its fiscal 2019/20 (year ending on 31 March 2020) results last month, Toyota said it expected current fiscal year operating profit to fall by close to 80% from JPY500bn (US$4.7bn) in 2019/20 – the lowest in nine years.
Toyota suggested strict cost cutting and efficiency drives had helped limit the impact from the coronavirus on its global operations and this so far has helped it avoid making workers redundant.
