The Japanese automobile number one, Toyota, significantly raised its 2020/21 forecasts on Friday after a very strong acceleration in its results in its second quarter compared to the first, the impact of the global pandemic on its activity having weakened.
Toyota is now aiming for an annual net profit of 1.420 billion yen (11.6 billion euros), a target almost doubling from its previous forecast, after posting a net profit of 470.5 billion yen in its second quarter (-11.3% over one year).
If Toyota reached this target, it would nevertheless still mark a very sharp decline (-30%) compared to its net profit signed in 2019/20.
The group has more than doubled its annual operating profit forecast, from 500 billion to 1.3 trillion yen.
In the second quarter alone, it exceeded its initial annual forecast
With an operating profit of 506 billion yen (-23.2% over one year), it exceeded its initial annual forecast in the second quarter alone.
In terms of its turnover, the group now anticipates annual sales of 26,000 billion yen (212.6 billion euros), or 2,000 billion yen more than its previous forecast.
This would limit the decline in annual sales to around 13%.
In the second quarter, its sales totaled 6.774.4 billion yen (55.4 billion euros), a decline of 11.3% over one year but a jump of 47% compared to its first quarter.
Before Toyota, other global automotive giants such as the German Volkswagen and the American General Motors have reported significantly improved results over their past quarter, which allowed them to return to the green.
For its part, Toyota had not even fallen into the red over the April-June period, at the worst time of lockdowns in the world, which had brought automobile production and demand to its knees.