Strong Results in Japan, U.S. Spur Toyota to Hike Outlook

Toyota Motor Corp. netted 258 billion yen ($3.2 billion) in the fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30 compared with 80 billion yen ($1 billion) in the same period of 2011. Revenue grew 18% to 5.4 trillion yen ($67.2 billion).

The company attributes the improvement to a weaker yen, stronger sales and lower incentive and production costs. Operating income more than quadrupled to 341 billion yen ($4.2 billion).

Worldwide sales climbed 24% to 2.25 million vehicles, including Toyota's Daihatsu and Hino units, as vehicle inventories bounced back from the earthquake- and tsunami-battered levels a year earlier.

The company's operating results improved in all major regions in the July-September period. In Japan, revenue rose 10% to 3.2 trillion yen ($39.3 billion). The unit swung to a 144 billion-yen ($1.8 billion) operating profit from a 69 billion-yen loss ($861 million) a year earlier.

North American revenue in the quarter jumped one-third to 1.5 trillion yen ($18 billion) on a 45% sales surge to 598,000 vehicles. Operating earnings doubled to 65 billion yen ($807 million).

Toyota boosted its previous outlook for net and operating earnings in the current fiscal year by 3% to 780 billion yen ($9.7 billion) and 5% to 1.1 trillion yen ($13.1 billion), respectively. Last year the company posted net profit of 284 billion yen and operating income of 356 billion yen.

Toyota estimates that anti-Japan sentiment in China will reduce its net profit by about 30 billion yen ($374 million) and sales by 200,000 vehicles in the fiscal second half.

The company trimmed its full-year projections for revenue 3% to 21.3 trillion yen ($264.8 billion) and for sales by 50,000 units to 8.75 million vehicles. Toyota generated revenue of 18.6 trillion yen ($231 billion) the previous year on sales of 7.35 million vehicles.