Toyota, the world’s second largest carmaker, saw its first drop in annual net profits for five years, after sharp yen gains at the start of the past fiscal year which was largely driven by Brexit and tumbling world equity markets.
Toyota posted a net profit of 1.83 trillion yen (16 billion US dollars) for the fiscal year that ended in March, more than 20 percent down from a record 2.31 trillion yen net profit in the previous year.
Its revenue was also slightly lower at 27.6 trillion yen in the fiscal year, a decrease of 2.8 percent.
The assembly line at a Toyota Prius factory. /VCG Photo
The Japanese automaker warned that it expects a net profit of 1.5 trillion yen in the current fiscal year ending in March 2018, which would be way off market expectations of about 1.9 trillion yen, according to AFP.
North America is Toyota’s biggest market, with 2,837,334 units sold in the past year. That tops Japan's 2,273,962 units, Asia's 1,587,822 units, Europe's 924,560 units and 1,347,182 units in other regions.
Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota Motor Corp., speaks during a news conference in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday, May 10, 2017. /CFP Photo
In China, Toyota ranked ninth compared to other brands in terms of sales in April, behind Volkswagen, General Motors, Nissan and Ford.
The yen’s ups and downs during the fiscal year were a factor that influenced the performance of the industry, said Satoru Takada, a Tokyo-based analyst at research firm TIW, before the results were published.
"Japan's auto sector saw ups and downs in its earnings as the yen fluctuated during the fiscal year - foreign exchange will continue to be a major factor for the industry,” Takada said, according to AFP.
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