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According to reports, 2009 is the worst fiscal year for Toyota, considering its otherwise, successful history. After years of leading the automotive industry, the company experienced a significant decline in sales. However, a recent article from Automotive News suggests that this fiscal year, which ends on March 31, isn’t as bad for Toyota as some people think. The Japanese automaker might just report profits this year.
AN cites Japanese newspaper Nikkei in claiming that Toyota will announce a total profit of as much as $532 million. This is despite the sagging sales which caused the company to recall a lot of its cars, and the inevitable weakness of the US auto industry this year. Before AN’s report, Toyota had already anticipated losing at least 20 billion yen (with $213 million in US funds) by the end of this year.
However, Nikkei claims that the cost cutting implemented by Toyota coupled with the weak value of the Japanese Yen might just help the company work beat the estimated loss. The Japanese daily further forecasted that the global revenues from Toyota’s car and truck sales will only be down by five percent. The company should still be able to sell around 7.2 million vehicles.
Automotive News also cited Thompson Reuters who forecasted that Toyota will profit 42.3 billion yen or US$457 million before the first half of this year ends. The company is set to file its official earnings in 2011. Production of new cars, including the anticipated Prius minivan which is said to run on lithium-ion batteries, is still underway.
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