TOKYO: Toyota Motor Corp.’s July-September net profit rose 13.5% from a year ago, buoyed by a weak yen that offset slowdowns in Southeast Asia and emerging markets.
In the second quarter, the world’s best-selling auto maker booked Y611.7 billion ($5.0 billion) in net profit, up 13.5% from Y539.0 billion a year ago.
The latest quarterly profit was higher than an estimate of Y614 billion, according to analysts polled by Thomson Reuters. Second-quarter revenue was Y7.1 trillion, an 8.4% increase from Y6.6 trillion in the same period last year.
Toyota stuck with its full-year net profit forecast of Y2.25 trillion.
The world’s best-selling auto maker cut its group full-year global sales forecast by 150,000 vehicles to 10 million vehicles.
Toyota’s July-September U.S. sales rose 1.1% year-on-year, underperforming the overall market increase of 6.2%. It sold around 636,000 vehicles, with higher sales of vehicles such as the RAV4, Corolla and Camry.
Toyota, which dominates in Southeast Asia, faces declines in Thailand and Indonesia, the region’s two biggest markets. In Thailand, Toyota sales fell around 7% in July-September, while in Indonesia, sales fell about 26% during the same period.
In China, where passenger car sales have been tepid in recent months, Toyota has performed strongly. In January-September, sales rose 11.7% year-on-year to 793,000 vehicles.
Toyota is the last among Japan’s major auto makers to announce second-quarter results. Earlier this week, Nissan Motor Co. (7201.TO) posted a 38% increase in quarterly net profit and raised its full-year net profit outlook by 10% to a record Y535 billion. Honda Motor Co.’s (7267.TO) quarterly net profit rose 6.9%, but it was hit by growing costs related to recalls over air bags made by Takata Corp. (7312.TO)
The strong U.S. market prompted other car makers to raise full-year forecasts. On Thursday, Fuji Heavy Industries (7270.TO), maker of Subaru cars, raised its full-year net profit forecast by Y35 billion to a record Y372 billion and said it expects to sell a record 953,000 vehicles worldwide this financial year. Mazda Motor Corp. (7261.TO) also raised its net profit forecast by Y15 billion to Y155 billion.
