Toyota raises earnings forecast after Q3 quarter profit jumps 14%

PanARMENIAN.Net - Toyota Motor Corp., the world's No. 1 automaker, raised its earnings forecast Wednesday, Feb 4, after third quarter profit jumped 14 percent, boosted by a weak yen, the Associated Press reports.

Toyota reported a better-than-expected 600 billion yen ($5.1 billion) profit for the three months through December. Quarterly sales of 7.17 trillion yen ($61 billion) were up 9 percent year-on-year.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast a quarterly profit of 540 billion yen ($4.6 billion).

The Japanese automaker, which makes the Camry sedan, Prius hybrid and Lexus luxury model, expects a profit of 2.13 trillion yen ($18 billion) for the fiscal year through March, up nearly 17 percent from the previous year. It had previously projected a 2 trillion yen ($17 billion) profit.

Toyota has held the top spot in global vehicle sales for three years straight, selling 10.23 million vehicles last year, beating Volkswagen AG of Germany and U.S. rival General Motors Co.

Toyota's bottom line has gotten a lift from the cheap yen, although Managing Officer Taku Sasaki also credited cost cuts.

The dollar averaged about 114 yen for the fiscal third quarter, while it cost 100 yen the same period the previous year. It has risen to about 118 yen recently.

Toyota said it added 145 billion yen ($1.2 billion) to its quarterly operating profit from the foreign exchange rate, while gaining 80 billion yen ($680 million) from cost cuts.