TOKYO: Profits at Japanese car giant Toyota hit the skids despite record sales, the company admitted on Wednesday, although it said it expected to accelerate out of trouble in the year ahead.
The maker of the Camry sedan and Prius hybrid said net profit was down 24.5 per cent from its best-ever result the year before, at 1.88 trillion yen ($17 billion) in the year to March 31.
Toyota’s bottom line was pushed down by some 294 billion yen in book losses on its investment portfolio.
Akio Toyoda (pictured), the firm’s president, noted it was the first time a Japanese company had ever logged annual sales in excess of 30 trillion yen.
Toyota expects operating profit for the current year to March 2020 will increase 3.3 per cent to 2.55 trillion yen. Sales are forecast to sag 0.7 per cent to 30 trillion yen. — AFP
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