TOKYO (AP) — Toyota doubled its net profit in the fiscal year that ended in March, as strong vehicle sales and a favorable exchange rate boosted results for Japan’s top automaker.
Toyota Motor Corp.’s annual profit totaled 4.9 trillion yen ($31.9 billion), up from 2.45 trillion yen a year earlier, while its sales jumped 21 percent to 45 trillion yen ($290 billion dollars), the company announced on Wednesday.
The results exceeded Toyota’s own projections of a profit of 4.5 trillion yen ($29 billion), as its global sales jumped to 9.4 million vehicles from 8.8 million vehicles during of the previous financial year.
Sales of hybrids have performed well, although Toyota has stressed that it is working hard to offer different types of electric vehicles, including battery electric vehicles, plug-in models and fuel cell models.
The weak yen has been a big advantage for Toyota, which makes the Camry sedan, Prius hybrid and Lexus luxury models. The U.S. dollar cost an average of 145 Japanese yen during the last fiscal year, compared to 135 yen the year before, according to Toyota.
For the January-March quarter, Toyota earned 997.6 billion yen ($6.4 billion), up from 552 billion yen a year earlier, on revenue of 11 trillion yen ($71 billion). dollars), compared to 9.7 trillion yen.
The company, based in the Toyota City in central Japan, now expects to sell 9.5 million vehicles this fiscal year, with sales expected to grow in the United States and the rest of Asia.
Toyota said it would make key investments in areas such as technology research in the coming months to support its long-term growth.
The company expects its net profit for the fiscal year through March 2025 to fall nearly 28% to 3.57 trillion yen ($23 billion), with spending also covering investments in the workers of suppliers and dealers whom she calls “human capital”.
“The latest results show that our efforts have paid off, but we must continue to grow with the vision of becoming a mobility company,” Chief Executive Officer Koji Sato told reporters.
Toyota must address the challenges in a way that Sato described as more dramatic than Toyota’s trademark “kaizen,” which refers to daily improvements coming from the factory floor.
Developing environmentally friendly vehicles while respecting Toyota’s immaculate reputation for safety and quality requires the company to “solidify the foundation upon which it is built.”
The auto industry is undergoing a radical transformation, moving away from old-style gasoline engines, especially in markets like China, where electric vehicles dominate and some analysts say automakers like Toyota may have taken over. delay.
Like other manufacturers, Toyota has been hit hard by a shortage of computer chips and other components during the pandemic. The latest results show that it has rebounded after the production crisis.
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Yuri Kageyama is on X: https://twitter.com/yurikageyama
