Toyota Logs Record Profits For April-Dec., Ups Full-Year Outlook

TOKYO, JAPAN - FEB. 5: Toyota Motor Corp. said Friday it booked record-high profits for the April-December period, raising its full-year forecast, helped by strong sales in North America. The world's top automaker reported its group net profit rose 9.2 percent in the nine months from a year earlier to 1.89 trillion yen ($16 billion) and operating profit grew 9.0 percent to 2.31 trillion yen on sales of 21.43 trillion yen, up 6.5 percent and also the biggest on record. Toyota revised upward its net profit outlook for the year through March 31 to 2.27 trillion yen from an earlier estimate of 2.25 trillion yen. The new forecast represents a 4.4 percent increase from the previous year. It maintained the outlook for fiscal 2015 operating profit and sales unchanged, respectively, at 2.8 trillion yen, up 1.8 percent, and 27.5 trillion yen, up 1.0 percent. The figures do not reflect the impact from the recent suspension of assembly plants in Japan due to an explosion at a steel plant in Aichi Prefecture, central Japan. A solid economy and cheaper gasoline prices in the United States are a "tailwind" for automakers, Toyota Managing Officer Tetsuya Otake said at a press conference. But he also said, "We will monitor (the impact of) the suspension of our plants and uncertainties about the outlook for emerging markets." Toyota sold 6.49 million cars globally in the nine months through December. Sales in North America gained amid cheaper gasoline prices following the plummet in crude oil prices. But sales in Europe and Asia, including Japan, decreased. Toyota expects to sell 10.05 million vehicles worldwide for fiscal 2015, up from 10 million projected in November.