- Jan 7, 2002
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Toyota Motor Corp.'s first-quarter profit rose 39 percent to $3.2 billion, bolstered by strong vehicle sales around the world, favorable currency trends that boosted the value of its foreign earnings, and cost reductions.
"We posted substantial increases in both revenues and profits, achieving record levels," said Toyota Managing Director Takeshi Suzuki.
Toyota's revenues rose 13 percent, as its car and truck sales increased 7 percent to 2.09 million vehicles in the three months to June 30, the first quarter of the Japanese fiscal year.
Higher vehicle sales in North America, Toyota's biggest and most lucrative market, accounted for more than two-thirds of the increase.
Japan's largest automaker, ranked No. 2 worldwide after General Motors Corp., said operating profit rose 26.5 percent.
More than half of that gain -- or about $870 million -- was due to a drop in the value of the Japanese yen, which helped to offset rising raw material prices and an increase in research and development spending.
The yen weakened to 115 to the U.S. dollar in the April-June quarter from 106 in the previous year.
Toyota left unchanged its full-year forecast for 8.45 million vehicle sales, up from 8 million for the year ended last March 31.
GM, which sold 2.4 million in the last quarter, still outsells Toyota globally. But analysts expect the Japanese automaker to pass GM within a few years as the U.S. auto giant downsizes its loss-making domestic operations.
Toyota's first-quarter sales in North America were up 14 percent from year-earlier levels, to 747,000 vehicles, buoyed by strong demand for its RAV4 and FJ Cruiser sport utility vehicles and new, fuel-efficient Yaris compact.
In July -- the first month of Japan's fiscal second quarter -- Toyota overtook Ford Motor Co. for the first time in monthly U.S. sales. Ford's year-to-date sales, however, are ahead of Toyota's.
"Everything is going well for Toyota, especially in North American sales," said Koji Endo, Tokyo-based auto analyst for Credit Suisse First Boston Securities.
In addition to robust sales of small cars such as the Corolla, the company's light trucks and Lexus luxury models -- which tend to produce fatter profit margins per vehicle -- are selling well, boosted by a perception that they are more fuel-efficient than rival offerings.
In Japan, where overall sales have fallen for 13 consecutive months, Toyota's sales were down around 1 percent at 543,000 vehicles. Its share of its domestic market, excluding minicars, now stands at 46.5 percent.
Toyota is increasing overseas output and is currently building a truck plant in Texas slated to start building next-generation Tundra pickups toward the end of the year. It is also expanding production in Canada, Thailand, Mexico and Russia.
"Toyota's biggest strength is that it's learning how to design cars suited for each market," said Edwin Merner, president of Atlantis Investment Research Corp. in Tokyo.
But some analysts question if Toyota is growing too fast. Over the past couple of years, its recalls have risen sharply.http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060804/UPDATE/608040429
"We posted substantial increases in both revenues and profits, achieving record levels," said Toyota Managing Director Takeshi Suzuki.
Toyota's revenues rose 13 percent, as its car and truck sales increased 7 percent to 2.09 million vehicles in the three months to June 30, the first quarter of the Japanese fiscal year.
Higher vehicle sales in North America, Toyota's biggest and most lucrative market, accounted for more than two-thirds of the increase.
Japan's largest automaker, ranked No. 2 worldwide after General Motors Corp., said operating profit rose 26.5 percent.
More than half of that gain -- or about $870 million -- was due to a drop in the value of the Japanese yen, which helped to offset rising raw material prices and an increase in research and development spending.
The yen weakened to 115 to the U.S. dollar in the April-June quarter from 106 in the previous year.
Toyota left unchanged its full-year forecast for 8.45 million vehicle sales, up from 8 million for the year ended last March 31.
GM, which sold 2.4 million in the last quarter, still outsells Toyota globally. But analysts expect the Japanese automaker to pass GM within a few years as the U.S. auto giant downsizes its loss-making domestic operations.
Toyota's first-quarter sales in North America were up 14 percent from year-earlier levels, to 747,000 vehicles, buoyed by strong demand for its RAV4 and FJ Cruiser sport utility vehicles and new, fuel-efficient Yaris compact.
In July -- the first month of Japan's fiscal second quarter -- Toyota overtook Ford Motor Co. for the first time in monthly U.S. sales. Ford's year-to-date sales, however, are ahead of Toyota's.
"Everything is going well for Toyota, especially in North American sales," said Koji Endo, Tokyo-based auto analyst for Credit Suisse First Boston Securities.
In addition to robust sales of small cars such as the Corolla, the company's light trucks and Lexus luxury models -- which tend to produce fatter profit margins per vehicle -- are selling well, boosted by a perception that they are more fuel-efficient than rival offerings.
In Japan, where overall sales have fallen for 13 consecutive months, Toyota's sales were down around 1 percent at 543,000 vehicles. Its share of its domestic market, excluding minicars, now stands at 46.5 percent.
Toyota is increasing overseas output and is currently building a truck plant in Texas slated to start building next-generation Tundra pickups toward the end of the year. It is also expanding production in Canada, Thailand, Mexico and Russia.
"Toyota's biggest strength is that it's learning how to design cars suited for each market," said Edwin Merner, president of Atlantis Investment Research Corp. in Tokyo.
But some analysts question if Toyota is growing too fast. Over the past couple of years, its recalls have risen sharply.http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060804/UPDATE/608040429
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