Toyota aims to treble earnings and margins in the next year
TOYOTA expects to treble its operating profit this year to more than $12.5bn (£7.8bn) – still less than half what it earned before the global financial crisis – as Japan’s top carmaker recovers lost ground in markets from the United States to China.
Operating profit jumped more than five-fold in the first quarter of the year to $3bn, with all production centres back up and running after last year’s earthquake, tsunami and Thai floods disrupted supply chains.
With robust top-line growth a given in the current year, the company predicts operating profit of $12.54bn, in line with market forecasts. Toyota is also looking to squeeze further cost cuts in a battle to offset a strong yen.
The firm also expects to see its operating margins almost triple, from 1.9 per cent last year to 4.5 per cent in 2012.
Despite the financial pain brought by the strong yen, Toyota has committed to build at least 3m vehicles a year at its domestic factories.