Results from Toyota Motor to be released next month are expected to show the auto giant returning to profit in the year to last month, despite a massive recall scandal, news reports said yesterday.
The Japanese automaker is expected to post a group operating profit of up to ¥50 billion (US$530 million), reversing a ¥461 billion operating loss for the previous year, the Nikkei business daily said.
The uptick is mainly attributable to cost-cutting and a weak yen, which offset the costs of the global recalls, the daily said.
The company has recalled around 10 million vehicles worldwide since late last year because of accelerator and brake defects, but nevertheless expected to see a “good earnings situation” a Toyota executive told Kyodo News.
STRONG DEMAND
Toyota had earlier forecast an operating loss of ¥20 billion for the year to the end of March.
Sales were expected to show a 5 percent fall to 7.2 million units, Nikkei said. The better-than-expected sales were partly attributable to strong demand for its new Prius hybrid car in Japan.
A Toyota spokesman was not immediately available to comment on the report.
The firm is to announce its earnings results early next month.
On Monday the company agreed to pay a US$16.4 million fine, the largest for an automaker in the US, for hiding for at least four months accelerator pedal defects blamed in more than 50 US deaths.
Toyota faces at least 97 US lawsuits seeking damages for injury or death linked to sudden acceleration and 138 class action lawsuits from US customers suing to recoup losses in the resale value of Toyota vehicles.
Separately, Toyota is recalling 100,000 Corolla model cars sold in Brazil over acceleration problems, a consumer protection group said on Friday after meeting with the Japanese automaker.
BRAZIL
The recall comes a day after the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais ordered a ban on the sales of the best-selling car, saying the vehicles presented a safety threat.
After a meeting with consumer advocacy bodies, Toyota said it would review the condition of the vehicles’ floor mats, which authorities and manufacturers have pinpointed as the source of several accelerator problems that led to accidents, according to Sao Paulo-based consumer protection agency Procon.
“The recall is aimed at safeguarding the health and safety of Brazilian consumers,” said Procon in a statement.
Toyota “will inform consumers [of the recall] in the coming days,” it added.
BYPASSING CHINA TARIFFS: In the first five months of this year, Foxconn sent US$4.4bn of iPhones to the US from India, compared with US$3.7bn in the whole of last year Nearly all the iPhones exported by Foxconn Technology Group (富士康科技集團) from India went to the US between March and last month, customs data showed, far above last year’s average of 50 percent and a clear sign of Apple Inc’s efforts to bypass high US tariffs imposed on China. The numbers, being reported by Reuters for the first time, show that Apple has realigned its India exports to almost exclusively serve the US market, when previously the devices were more widely distributed to nations including the Netherlands and the Czech Republic. During March to last month, Foxconn, known as Hon Hai Precision Industry
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) yesterday announced the launch of the TSMC-UTokyo Lab to promote advanced semiconductor research, education and talent development. The lab is TSMC’s first laboratory collaboration with a university outside Taiwan, the company said in a statement. The lab would leverage “the extensive knowledge, experience, and creativity” of both institutions, the company said. It is located in the Asano Section of UTokyo’s Hongo, Tokyo, campus and would be managed by UTokyo faculty, guided by directors from UTokyo and TSMC, the company said. TSMC began working with UTokyo in 2019, resulting in 21 research projects,
Ashton Hall’s morning routine involves dunking his head in iced Saratoga Spring Water. For the company that sells the bottled water — Hall’s brand of choice for drinking, brushing his teeth and submerging himself — that is fantastic news. “We’re so thankful to this incredible fitness influencer called Ashton Hall,” Saratoga owner Primo Brands Corp’s CEO Robbert Rietbroek said on an earnings call after Hall’s morning routine video went viral. “He really helped put our brand on the map.” Primo Brands, which was not affiliated with Hall when he made his video, is among the increasing number of companies benefiting from influencer
Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) chairman Barry Lam (林百里) yesterday expressed a downbeat view about the prospects of humanoid robots, given high manufacturing costs and a lack of target customers. Despite rising demand and high expectations for humanoid robots, high research-and-development costs and uncertain profitability remain major concerns, Lam told reporters following the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting in Taoyuan. “Since it seems a bit unworthy to use such high-cost robots to do household chores, I believe robots designed for specific purposes would be more valuable and present a better business opportunity,” Lam said Instead of investing in humanoid robots, Quanta has opted to invest
RSS