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Toyota announces surprise return to profitability

Toyota Motor, the world’s largest automaker, announced yesterday a surprise return to profit and upgraded its outlook for the rest of the year helped by demand for fuel-efficient cars.

Toyota posted a net profit of ¥21.8 billion (US$240 million) for the fiscal second quarter to September, sharply lower than a year earlier but much better than the first quarter’s loss of ¥77.8 billion.

Operating profit dropped 65.8 percent year-on-year to ¥58.0 billion as revenue fell 24.4 percent to ¥4.23 trillion, a company statement said.

Toyota’s vehicle sales declined in each region, but the company made progress in cutting costs, vice president Yoichiro Ichimaru said.

“In addition, demand-­stimulating measures by governments worldwide have contributed to our revised targets for the full fiscal year,” he said. “However, the outlook for global vehicle demand still remains uncertain.”

The maker of the Prius hybrid narrowed its annual net loss forecast to ¥200 billion from ¥450 billion and its operating loss projection to ¥350 billion from ¥750 billion.

Toyota joins Honda and Nissan in upgrading its outlook, adding to hopes that automakers are through the worst of the industry crisis.

For the first half to September, Toyota logged a net loss of ¥56 billion, compared with a year-earlier profit of ¥493.4 billion.

The company sold about 3.13 million vehicles worldwide in the six-month period, down 26.4 percent from the same period of the previous year.
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