Toyota's profits falling
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Joined: Jun 2001
Posts: 4,600
From: Pewee Valley, KY
Toyota's profits falling
http://money.cnn.com/2008/05/08/news...n=money_latest
Perhaps there was some truth to that 'currency manipulation' speculation.
Toyota profit falls on weak U.S. sales
Automaker's quarterly net falls 28%, hit by lagging North American sales and stronger yen.
TOKYO (AP) -- Toyota said the strong yen and weaker U.S. sales took a bite out of January-March earnings and projected worse was to come - a 27% plunge in its full-year profit.
It would be the first drop in full-year profit in seven years for the automaker.
The results and outlook released Thursday highlight how the tough North American auto market is hammering profits. Meanwhile, unfavorable currency swings added to a growing list of problems for Toyota Motor Corp., including soaring material and energy costs and a stagnant auto market in its home market of Japan.
"There is no mistake that things are seriously tough - even for Toyota," said Tsuyoshi Mochimaru, auto analyst at Lehman Brothers in Tokyo.
Still, the company appeared to be faring better than its American rivals. GM lost $3.3 billion in the first quarter. Ford (F, Fortune 500) had a surprise profit of $100 million for the same period but expects to lose money this year as the U.S. auto market deteriorates.
Honda Motor Co. (HMC), Japan's No. 2 automaker behind Toyota, said last month that its January-March profit declined 86% compared with the same period a year ago because of a corporate tax levied on its Chinese joint venture. Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY) reports earnings next week.
For the fiscal fourth quarter, the automaker reported a 28% drop in net profit to $3.05 billion. It was the first decline in quarterly profit since April-June 2005.
Sales rose 3.8% in the most recent quarter to $63.14 billion.
Toyota (TM) had been on a roll with the success of its fuel-efficient models, including the Prius and the Corolla subcompact, which have gotten a boost from rising gas prices.
For the fiscal year ended March 31, Toyota racked up record profit of $16.54 billion - up 4.5% from the previous year. That was in line with the projection Toyota gave in February.
Annual sales grew 9.8% to $252.8 billion, also a record for the company.
But recent credit woes in North America have dampened sales in recent quarters.
"We are facing a severe business environment," President Katsuaki Watanabe said. "Toyota considers this headwind as a valuable opportunity to turn it into a more flexible and stronger company."
Toyota projects this fiscal year's profit will tumble to $12.0 billion, while annual sales are seen falling 4.9% to $240.4 billion.
The last time the company's profit declined was in the fiscal year ending March 2002; the last time annual sales fell was in the year ending March 2000, mainly because of a weak dollar.
Toyota - the world's second-biggest automaker after General Motors Corp. (GM, Fortune 500) - also warned it will need to spend more in technology research and carry out cost cuts to stay competitive.
The recent shift to smaller cars is a crunch for the makers because those vehicles are cheaper and have smaller profit margins than trucks and other gas guzzlers.
Toyota has been steadily boosting sales in recent years at a pace some analysts say is on track to overtake General Motors as the world's No. 1 automaker in annual vehicle sales.
For the fiscal year ended March 31, Toyota sold 8.91 million vehicles around the world. That was slightly below the 8.93 million vehicles it had expected to sell for the fiscal year, but still 4.5% better than a year earlier.
North American vehicle sales, which had been strong for Toyota in the past, fell for the last fiscal quarters, according to the company. Japanese sales have also been stagnant recently.
Toyota said it expected to sell 9.06 million vehicles globally for the fiscal year through March 2009, up 1.6 from the year just ended.
Toyota shares slid 1.8% to $52.7 in Tokyo. The results were released just as the market closed. To top of page
Automaker's quarterly net falls 28%, hit by lagging North American sales and stronger yen.
TOKYO (AP) -- Toyota said the strong yen and weaker U.S. sales took a bite out of January-March earnings and projected worse was to come - a 27% plunge in its full-year profit.
It would be the first drop in full-year profit in seven years for the automaker.
The results and outlook released Thursday highlight how the tough North American auto market is hammering profits. Meanwhile, unfavorable currency swings added to a growing list of problems for Toyota Motor Corp., including soaring material and energy costs and a stagnant auto market in its home market of Japan.
"There is no mistake that things are seriously tough - even for Toyota," said Tsuyoshi Mochimaru, auto analyst at Lehman Brothers in Tokyo.
Still, the company appeared to be faring better than its American rivals. GM lost $3.3 billion in the first quarter. Ford (F, Fortune 500) had a surprise profit of $100 million for the same period but expects to lose money this year as the U.S. auto market deteriorates.
Honda Motor Co. (HMC), Japan's No. 2 automaker behind Toyota, said last month that its January-March profit declined 86% compared with the same period a year ago because of a corporate tax levied on its Chinese joint venture. Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY) reports earnings next week.
For the fiscal fourth quarter, the automaker reported a 28% drop in net profit to $3.05 billion. It was the first decline in quarterly profit since April-June 2005.
Sales rose 3.8% in the most recent quarter to $63.14 billion.
Toyota (TM) had been on a roll with the success of its fuel-efficient models, including the Prius and the Corolla subcompact, which have gotten a boost from rising gas prices.
For the fiscal year ended March 31, Toyota racked up record profit of $16.54 billion - up 4.5% from the previous year. That was in line with the projection Toyota gave in February.
Annual sales grew 9.8% to $252.8 billion, also a record for the company.
But recent credit woes in North America have dampened sales in recent quarters.
"We are facing a severe business environment," President Katsuaki Watanabe said. "Toyota considers this headwind as a valuable opportunity to turn it into a more flexible and stronger company."
Toyota projects this fiscal year's profit will tumble to $12.0 billion, while annual sales are seen falling 4.9% to $240.4 billion.
The last time the company's profit declined was in the fiscal year ending March 2002; the last time annual sales fell was in the year ending March 2000, mainly because of a weak dollar.
Toyota - the world's second-biggest automaker after General Motors Corp. (GM, Fortune 500) - also warned it will need to spend more in technology research and carry out cost cuts to stay competitive.
The recent shift to smaller cars is a crunch for the makers because those vehicles are cheaper and have smaller profit margins than trucks and other gas guzzlers.
Toyota has been steadily boosting sales in recent years at a pace some analysts say is on track to overtake General Motors as the world's No. 1 automaker in annual vehicle sales.
For the fiscal year ended March 31, Toyota sold 8.91 million vehicles around the world. That was slightly below the 8.93 million vehicles it had expected to sell for the fiscal year, but still 4.5% better than a year earlier.
North American vehicle sales, which had been strong for Toyota in the past, fell for the last fiscal quarters, according to the company. Japanese sales have also been stagnant recently.
Toyota said it expected to sell 9.06 million vehicles globally for the fiscal year through March 2009, up 1.6 from the year just ended.
Toyota shares slid 1.8% to $52.7 in Tokyo. The results were released just as the market closed. To top of page
Registered User
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 9,705
From: Oakland, California
It didn't take them long to react though...
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/422683
http://www.thestar.com/Business/article/422683
Toyota set to raise prices of some cars
May 08, 2008 04:30 AM
Toyota Motor Corp. is raising prices on some U.S. vehicles amid worries about its profit growth in the American market.
The price increases of about 1 per cent will start in the middle of May, and include a $200 (U.S.) hike on the 2008 Yaris sedan, boosting the cost of the base model to $12,425. Extra features mean higher prices. The base 2009 Camry (pictured above) will go up $200, to $18,920, while the base hybrid Camry, introduced as a 2007 model in late 2006, will cost $300 more, at $25,650.
Like other Japanese automakers, Toyota is enjoying sales growth while American automakers are struggling. Soaring gas prices have increased demand for smaller, fuel-efficient cars that Japanese automakers are reputed for.
But Toyota faces a challenge in maintaining profits partly because of the U.S. dollar's decline, which erodes the value of Japanese exporters' overseas earnings. Worries are also rising about how a U.S. economic slowdown may hurt sales.
Toyota is set to release financial results today, when it could report its first profit drop in nearly a decade. But it's still faring better than its U.S. rivals. GM lost $3.3 billion in the first quarter. Ford had a surprise profit of $100 million for the same period.
May 08, 2008 04:30 AM
Toyota Motor Corp. is raising prices on some U.S. vehicles amid worries about its profit growth in the American market.
The price increases of about 1 per cent will start in the middle of May, and include a $200 (U.S.) hike on the 2008 Yaris sedan, boosting the cost of the base model to $12,425. Extra features mean higher prices. The base 2009 Camry (pictured above) will go up $200, to $18,920, while the base hybrid Camry, introduced as a 2007 model in late 2006, will cost $300 more, at $25,650.
Like other Japanese automakers, Toyota is enjoying sales growth while American automakers are struggling. Soaring gas prices have increased demand for smaller, fuel-efficient cars that Japanese automakers are reputed for.
But Toyota faces a challenge in maintaining profits partly because of the U.S. dollar's decline, which erodes the value of Japanese exporters' overseas earnings. Worries are also rising about how a U.S. economic slowdown may hurt sales.
Toyota is set to release financial results today, when it could report its first profit drop in nearly a decade. But it's still faring better than its U.S. rivals. GM lost $3.3 billion in the first quarter. Ford had a surprise profit of $100 million for the same period.
Registered User
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 3,180
From: Yadkinville, NC USA
Toyota profits falling...
Hmmm...
Quality is falling too.
An Economics professor or Rhoades Mathematician would errantly think the two were realted somehow, wouldn't they?
But we all know THAT'S not the case.
<sarcasm = on>Wonder why they are not making the huge windfalls they once were?
Maybe it was "Redefining the Truck" that did it for them. <sarcasm = off>
Hmmm...
Quality is falling too.
An Economics professor or Rhoades Mathematician would errantly think the two were realted somehow, wouldn't they?
But we all know THAT'S not the case.
<sarcasm = on>Wonder why they are not making the huge windfalls they once were?
Maybe it was "Redefining the Truck" that did it for them. <sarcasm = off>
Registered User
Joined: Aug 2001
Posts: 2,400
From: Michigan's left coast
Maybe it was "Redefining the Truck" that did it for them. <sarcasm = off>
Registered User
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 3,463
From: SoCal
Well they are still making lots of money and even if profits are down for them, they are still profits none the less. They are in far better shape than any domestic brand even in this economic downturn they still will make a profit. However, I bet in Toyko they are going crazy and that's to be expected with the success they have racked up of the past. And it's probably why they will keep racking up profits because they panic before they get into the red.
Real news will be if they ever actually lose money.
Real news will be if they ever actually lose money.
Registered User
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,448
From: Irving, TX
Yeah, but 200 dollars on 12k is less than 2%. It will make a different to Toyota, but to the average consumer, that $200 isn't going to mean a lot when spending 12k.
Classic! Where did you find this?
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