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Better prospects
: Toyota becomes more optimistic
Photo: Koji Sasahara / AP
The recovery of the car market in China makes Toyota more confident in the corona crisis.
Despite a slump in profits in the past quarter, the largest Japanese automaker more than doubled its profit forecast for the fiscal year that runs until the end of March on Friday.
The group is now aiming for an operating profit of 1.3 trillion yen (around 10.6 billion euros), said the Volkswagen rival.
Because of the global sales slump in the industry in the corona pandemic, Toyota had only forecast an operating profit of 500 billion yen (around 4.1 billion euros) in August, the weakest result in nine years.
After Toyota, Japanese rival Honda doubled its profit forecast for the fiscal year that runs until March on Friday.
The Japanese carmakers are concentrating more on the world's largest car market, which quickly regained its former strength after the lockdown there at the beginning of the year and is also pulling other manufacturers with it.
The German car companies Volkswagen, Daimler BMW and their American competitors, above all General Motors, who sell many cars in the People's Republic, also benefit from this.
The largest Japanese car maker Toyota expects sales of 9.42 (previous year 10.46) million vehicles this year.
So far, the manufacturer of cars such as the RAV4 SUV and the Prius hybrid car had assumed 9.1 million units.
Strong yen depresses revenues overseas
The new profit forecast is above analyst expectations, but still well below the result of the previous financial year.
In the period from July to September, according to calculations by Reuters, operating profit fell by 24 percent to 506 billion yen (4.14 billion euros) within a year in the wake of the corona crisis.
Nevertheless, the numbers showed initial progress compared to the start of the financial year, emphasized Toyota's CFO
Kenta Kon
(52).
However, the reaction of investors was cautious.
Investors have been watching Toyota closely overseas, said Nomura Securities fund manager Kazuo Kamiya.
In view of the appreciation of the Japanese yen and the corona virus, which is rampant around the world, the forecast increase must be viewed with caution.
A strong yen reduces the value of sales in the US, where Toyota sells a particularly large number of cars.
Honda doubled its profit forecast as well.
The third largest Japanese automaker now expects an operating profit of 420 billion yen (around 3.4 billion euros).
Before that, Honda had assumed earnings of 200 billion yen.
This year Honda plans to launch 4.6 million vehicles worldwide.
This is around 100,000 units more than previously expected, but is below last year's sales of just under 4.8 million vehicles.
cr / Reuters
