Toyota: Near-Record Quarterly Profit
November 07, 2007

TOKYO -- In contrast to General Motors record loss, Toyota Motor Corp. posted its second-largest quarterly profit ever, prompting the Japanese automaker to increase its full-year profit forecast.

For the quarter ending September 30, Toyota reported a net profit equivalent to $3.96 billion, up 11 percent form the same period a year ago. As a result of the strong quarter, Toyota said it was increasing its full-year profit forecast by 3 percent to 1.7 trillion yen. That would surpass last year’s record and mark the seventh consecutive year of record profits.

Toyota also raised its estimates for the number of vehicles it expects to sell globally –- 8.93 million, up from the earlier forecast of 8.89 million.

TMC Executive Vice President Mitsuo Kinoshita said in a statement: "For this period, we posted record results in both revenues and profits. We believe our efforts to build a globally balanced operational foundation contributed to these results. Net income has increased by nearly 70 percent over the last two years, due to a substantial increase in earnings by companies accounted for under the equity method, as well as increase in operating income."

In terms of products, much of Toyota’s strength came from the Camry, which Toyota began building in China, and is also selling well in Russia. The Land Cruiser is selling well in China; Lexus models are popular in Russia.

In terms of geography, Toyota said Asia is being a pillar of its earnings. Asian sales surge 45 percent in Asia, largely due to China. Toyota’s sales in Europe also rose. Those increases helped offset sales that were down 11 percent in North America and 2 percent in Japan. Analysts view as a positive the fact that Toyota can flourish overall while its home market and the U.S. are in a slump.

Toyota’s earnings also got a boost from a weaker yen.

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