Toyota raised its annual operating-profit forecast by 15%, citing hybrid demand and a softer yen as support while sales weakened in China and the Middle East for the fiscal year ending in March.
Toyota now expects ¥3.9 trillion in operating profit for the year, the company said. Operating profit for July through September was ¥1.13 trillion, Reuters reported, above the ¥992 billion median estimate from nine analysts surveyed by LSEG. Toyota recorded its first quarterly profit increase in six quarters, Reuters reported.
Toyota has focused on petrol-electric hybrids as Chinese electric-vehicle makers compete for market share. The Prius helped popularize hybrid technology decades ago, and Reuters reported that Toyota’s strategy has supported its position in the U.S. market. In China, higher fuel prices were weighing on consumer sentiment. Toyota Chief Accounting Officer Takanori Azuma said sales efforts and cost reductions were helping offset pressure from the Middle East situation and rising material costs.
Toyota Chief Financial Officer Yoichi Miyazaki said the company had stopped losing market share in China and was beginning to recover. He described Toyota as “starting to regain some ground.”
Toyota also said it plans to establish a robotics operation supplying manufacturers and other industries as a future growth area. The company raised its planned share buyback ceiling to ¥1.3 trillion from ¥1 trillion and said returns to shareholders could reach ¥14 trillion ($89 billion) by March 2031.
Toyota shares finished up more than 16% in Tokyo trade on Nov. 5, their biggest one-day gain since 1987, Reuters reported. The shares had risen about 8% before the results as investors shifted from AI-related stocks toward blue-chip shares after the U.S. midterm elections, Reuters reported.
