Tokyo — Toyota said on Wednesday its annual net
profit fell for the first time in five years, with the Japanese car
maker unexpectedly warning of more declines as a stronger yen takes a
bite out of its bottom line.
The Corolla and Prius hybrid maker posted a profit of ¥1.83-trillion ($16bn) on slightly lower revenue of ¥27.6-trillion for the year to end-March — well down from a record ¥2.31-trillion net profit the previous year.
Toyota, which in 2016 lost its crown to Volkswagen as the world’s top-selling car maker, expects a net profit of ¥1.5-trillion in the current year to March 2018 — way off market expectations around ¥1.9-trillion.
Vehicle sales in the past fiscal year ticked up to 10.25-million units from 10.19-million vehicles a year earlier.
Unit sales in the key North American market remained flat, while Toyota registered a pick up in Europe, Japan and the rest of Asia. Demand dropped in Central and South America, Africa and the Middle East, it said.
Japanese exporters, including major car makers like Toyota and Nissan, have benefited in recent years from a sharp drop in the yen.
A weaker yen boosts the bottom line by making their products relatively less expensive overseas, while inflating the value of profits earned abroad.
But this past fiscal year has seen sharp moves in the currency, with the Japanese unit surging after Britain’s shock vote to exit the EU boosted demand for the yen as a safe-haven currency.
The trend briefly reversed course after billionaire Donald Trump’s November US presidential election win fanned the expectation that his big-spending, tax-cutting agenda would fire up inflation and push the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates. A rate increase tends to lift the dollar against other currencies.
AFP
The Corolla and Prius hybrid maker posted a profit of ¥1.83-trillion ($16bn) on slightly lower revenue of ¥27.6-trillion for the year to end-March — well down from a record ¥2.31-trillion net profit the previous year.
Toyota, which in 2016 lost its crown to Volkswagen as the world’s top-selling car maker, expects a net profit of ¥1.5-trillion in the current year to March 2018 — way off market expectations around ¥1.9-trillion.
Vehicle sales in the past fiscal year ticked up to 10.25-million units from 10.19-million vehicles a year earlier.
Unit sales in the key North American market remained flat, while Toyota registered a pick up in Europe, Japan and the rest of Asia. Demand dropped in Central and South America, Africa and the Middle East, it said.
Japanese exporters, including major car makers like Toyota and Nissan, have benefited in recent years from a sharp drop in the yen.
A weaker yen boosts the bottom line by making their products relatively less expensive overseas, while inflating the value of profits earned abroad.
But this past fiscal year has seen sharp moves in the currency, with the Japanese unit surging after Britain’s shock vote to exit the EU boosted demand for the yen as a safe-haven currency.
The trend briefly reversed course after billionaire Donald Trump’s November US presidential election win fanned the expectation that his big-spending, tax-cutting agenda would fire up inflation and push the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates. A rate increase tends to lift the dollar against other currencies.
AFP
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