Toyota posts record 32pc quarterly profit
Ap, Tokyo
Toyota, on track to overtake General Motors as the world's biggest automaker this year, said Friday its April-June profit jumped 32.3 percent to a record high for a quarter, lifted by strong overseas sales and a weaker yen.Surging gas prices have proved a big plus for the Japanese automaker, as drivers flock to Toyota's fuel-efficient models, including the Camry, the best-selling model in the U.S., and the Prius gas-electric hybrid. "The results are fantastic," said Tsuyoshi Mochimaru, auto analyst with Lehman Brothers in Japan. Foreign sales are going strong, and the weak yen, which raises the value of overseas earnings when converted into yen, is making rosy earnings even rosier as Toyota's exports grow, Mochimaru said. Group net profit at Toyota, which also makes the Lexus luxury model and compact Corolla, totaled 491.54 billion yen ($4.1 billion) for the quarter through June, up from 371.50 billion yen the same period the previous year.
|
|
