Toyota Posts Record FY Sales, Earnings

Toyota Motor Corp.'s operating profit climbed 46% to 636 billion yen ($5.3 billion) in the fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31. Net profit jumped 50% to 446 billion yen ($3.7 billion).

Unit sales, including Daihatsu minicars and Hino trucks, slipped 2% to 2.52 million units in January-March. But favorable exchange rates hiked revenue 8% to 7.1 trillion yen ($59 billion).

Toyota's full-fiscal-year revenue grew 6% to 27.2 trillion yen ($227 billion). Operating income soared 20% to 2.8 billion yen ($23 billion), and net income climbed 19% to 2.2 trillion yen ($18 billion). All three results were records.

President Akio Toyoda notes the company has ended a three-year expansion freeze to refocus on cost reduction and quality control. Now it is adding capacity and rolling out a next generation of vehicles based on Toyota's new modular production platform, dubbed the Toyota New Global Architecture.

The company forecasts its revenue in the current fiscal year will rise only 1% to 27.5 trillion yen (about $23 billion) as vehicle sales remain unchanged at 10.15 million units. Toyota expects operating and net profit to advance 2% to 2.8 trillion yen and 4% to 2.3 trillion yen, respectively.

But President Toyoda emphasizes the company is concentrating on sustainable growth that includes less visible advances in production efficiency and technology investments.