Toyota Earns $2.2 Billion Profit; Hikes Forecast for the Year
By Michelle Krebs August 4, 2010
A reversal of fortunes in the recently closed quarter has given Toyota enough confidence to boost its outlook for its current fiscal year that runs through March 2011.
Despite lingering recall woes in the United States, Toyota Motor Corp. turned a profit of $2.2 billion in the quarter ended June 30. Toyota credited a recovering U.S. car market, Japanese government incentives, brisk sales in Asia and cost cutting with its return to profitability.
In the year ago period, Toyota reported a 77.82 billion yen loss compared to the 190.47 billion profit this quarter. That figure surpassed the average forecasts of analysts. The automaker had an operating profit versus an operating loss for the quarter as well, and sales rose 27 percent from a year ago.
The better-than-expected results prompted Toyota to hike its earnings outlook for the first half of the year ending September 30 and the full fiscal year that ends March 31, 2011. Toyota now expects to earn nearly $4 billion (340 billion yen) this fiscal year, up 30 billion yen from previous expectations.
In the United States, Toyota continues to struggle on the sales side. Toyota reported Tuesday that July sales fell 3 percent from the year-ago period and its Lexus division is trying to swat back BMW and Mercedes-Benz for U.S. luxury car leadership, a position the brand has held for some time.
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