Toyota’s Operating Profit Plummets 43%

Toyota Motor Corp. blames a strengthening Japanese yen and shifting consumer preferences for sharp profit declines in the fiscal second quarter ended Sept. 30.

The company’s operating income for the period plunged 43% to 474.6 billion yen ($4.5 billion). Net income shrank 36% to 393.7 billion yen ($3.8 billion).

Toyota’s worldwide vehicle sales rose 3% to 2.5 million units in July-September. But revenue fell 9% to 6.5 trillion yen ($67.7 billion).

The company concedes it hasn’t been able to meet demand for crossovers and pickup trucks, especially in the U.S., where its sales are down 3% so far this year, according to Autodata Corp. Toyota car sales have slumped 11% and light-truck sales are up 5%. Toyota says its quarterly operating profit in the U.S. shrank 6% to 139.8 billion yen ($1.3 billion).

In Europe, Toyota’s sales in July-September expanded 5% to 212,000 units. Operating profit climbed 14% to 25.5 billion yen ($243 million).

Toyota has raised its full-fiscal-year guidance based on tougher cost-cutting measures and adjusted assumptions about currency exchange rates. Even so, the company expects the stronger yen to cause its net income for the 12-month period to sag 33% to about 1.6 trillion yen ($14.8 billion).