Toyota Motor Corporation delivered some outstanding news to its investors on Wednesday, February 9, with the Japanese automaker reporting a record net profit of 2.32 trillion yen ($20.10 billion) for the period of April to December in 2021, as per Kyodo News.
That is 57.8 percent higher than the numbers Toyota posted during the same period the year before, with the company's profits boosted by the weaker yen. The operating profit of Toyota jumped 67.9 percent to 2.53 trillion yen during the first nine months of the fiscal year, which is also an all-time high for the carmaker.
Toyota managed to post record profits despite facing an ongoing computer chip shortage and higher costs of materials. While other major Japanese carmakers have been slow with their recovery from the impact of COVID-19, Toyota managed to buck the trend with its sales increasing by 19.2 percent to 23.27 trillion yen.
It was not all good news for Toyota, though, with the Automotive News Europe reporting that the company pulled down its global production target through March 2022 to just 8.5 million vehicles, compared with the planned 9 million units it announced back in November of last year.
Toyota had previously adjusted its output plan for this business year, lowering its production target globally due to supply chain issues. The Japanese auto giant had difficulty securing essential parts for its vehicles, with the COVID-19 pandemic hitting its suppliers badly in Southeast Asia.
With Toyota lowering its production plan again, the company slashed its sales outlook for the fiscal year 2021 to 29.50 trillion yen, down from its previous projection of 30 trillion yen. Toyota will still be happy with those figures, though, as that revised sales outlook is 8.4 percent higher than the company's final numbers for the fiscal year 2020.
Toyota maintained its operating profit outlook at 2.80 trillion yen, 27.4 percent higher than a year earlier. Helping Toyota in this regard is the favorable exchange rates brought upon by the weaker Japanese yen. That helped the company offset the effects of its smaller-than-expected vehicle production.
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The weaker Japanese currency has been a blessing for carmakers based in Japan as their profits from overseas are boosted when repatriated back home. Toyota put 111 yen as the assumed exchange rate for the U.S. dollar for its profit outlook. That is higher than the 110 yen the company estimated earlier for the exchange rate.
Reuters reported that Toyota also kept the same net profit forecast for the fiscal year 2021, putting its value at 2.49 trillion yen. That is 10.9 percent higher than a year before. This business year, powering Toyota's recovery has been the robust sales of its Asian and North American markets. The Japanese marque sold 6.10 million vehicles worldwide in the first nine months, up from the 5.44 million units it sold during the same period last year.
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