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Toyota first-half net profit sags 23% on rising costs
Operating profit dropped 34.7 percent to 1.14 trillion yen in the April-September period on sales of 17.7 trillion yen, up 14.4 percent.
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Customers look at a 2019 Camry Hybrid at a Toyota dealer in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia on Saturday. (Reuters/Hamad I Mohammed)
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oyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday its net profit in the six months ended September fell 23.2 percent to 1.17 trillion yen ($7.9 billion) from a year earlier, as soaring material costs offset the positive impact of a weak yen.
Operating profit dropped 34.7 percent to 1.14 trillion yen in the April-September period on sales of 17.7 trillion yen, up 14.4 percent.
The company cut its full-year production plan through next March to 9.2 million vehicles from 9.7 million announced in May, citing a global semiconductor shortage that has affected automakers.
Operating profit was reduced by 765 billion yen due to higher prices of materials such as steel and aluminum. A weaker yen boosted profit by over 500 billion yen, but it was not enough to offset negative factors.
"We may not be able to fully make up for the negative effect of rising material prices within this fiscal year, but we eventually will, although it may take time," Chief Financial Officer Kenta Kon told an online press conference.
"We caused trouble to our suppliers and customers by repeatedly cutting output, but we are still maintaining a very high production level historically," Kon said.
For the current fiscal year ending March, the automaker left its net profit forecast unchanged at 2.36 trillion yen but raised its sales outlook to 36 trillion yen from 34.5 trillion yen projected in August, citing a positive effect from the weaker yen.
The automaker now expects the US dollar to trade at 135 yen over the full year, compared with its previous estimate of 130 yen, taking into account the recent drop in the Japanese currency.
