From Reuters via MSN, May 8:
Toyota Motor forecast a 20% profit decline in the current financial year on Wednesday, citing cost of investment in suppliers and strategy after the world's top-selling automaker delivered blockbuster fourth-quarter results.
Despite the leaner forecast, the results from the Japanese manufacturer smashed market expectations. Operating profit surged 78% in the January-March fourth quarter. For the full year, it totalled 5.35 trillion yen ($34.5 billion) - the first time for a Japanese company to top 5 trillion yen in operating profit, local media said.
While Toyota has been boosted by a weaker yen, it has been a big beneficiary of cooling demand for electric vehicles in some markets, such as the United States, where more customers are now embracing petrol-electric hybrids, Toyota's traditional strength.
It was long criticised for pursuing its "multi-pathway" strategy championing hybrids and plug-in hybrids as well as EVs, a stance that is increasingly looking prescient given consumer concerns about EV driving ranges and the availability of charging stations.
Toyota expects operating income to total 4.3 trillion yen in the year to March 2025, a 20% decline, as it invests in "human capital", including providing support for labour costs of suppliers and dealers, as well as investments for its multi-pathway strategy....
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