TOYOTA MOTOR raised its full-year profit forecast by more than a third as it cuts costs, trims spending and expects Japanese government schemes to boost sales, though the guidance was still some way below analysts’ expectations.
Japan’s leading car maker now expects operating profit – earnings from its core operations – for the year to end-March of 270 billion yen (€2.6 billion), a drop of 42 per cent from last year.
Toshiyuki Kanayama, an analyst at Monex Securities, said the revised profit guidance was a bit of a disappointment. “But the market is looking at the next financial year. The key for Toyota shares will be whether profit (next year) will rise to around 800 billion yen.”
Toyota, which has a market value of $135 billion – more than rivals Honda, Nissan and Suzuki combined – raised its annual forecast for net profit, which includes earnings made in China, by 11 per cent to 200 billion yen.
October-December operating profit jumped 51 per cent to 149.7 billion yen from a year earlier, well ahead of the average estimate of a small decline to 93.9 billion yen. – (Bloomberg)