Akio – the alpha male in the auto business?
Toyota Motor posted strong Q3 results with a net profit of 99.9 billion yen – or $1.1 billion – for the three months of the Japanese fiscal year ending in December. This was a 23.5% increase from results a year earlier when Toyota was still recovering from natural disasters in Japan and Thailand.
Major factors contributing to the increase include the positive effects from marketing activities generating 660 billion yen and cost reduction efforts saving 320 billion yen.
The U.S. market was the prime mover for the success of the world’s largest automaker with the Camry, Corolla and RAV4 on the bestseller list. Vehicle sales for the nine months totaled 6.629 million units, an increase of 1.634 million compared to the same period last year.
TMC also revised its consolidated financial forecasts for fiscal year 2013 to what could be a five-year high if targets are met – net revenue of 21.8 trillion yen, operating income of 1.15 trillion yen, income before income taxes of 1.29 trillion yen and net income of 860.0 billion yen. This is dependent on an exchange rate of 81 yen to the U.S. dollar and 104 yen to the euro. Toyota previously based its annual financial projections on 79 yen to the dollar and 100 yen to the euro.
“Our consolidated operating income for the period April through December 2012, 818.5 billion yen, reflects our increased vehicle sales and the progress we are making with our profit improvement activities—in spite of a currency exchange rate around the same level as last year,” said Senior Managing Officer Takahiko Ijichi of TMC. “We also managed to secure an unconsolidated operating income of 21.5 billion yen for the same period.
“Given increased overseas vehicle sales mostly in North America, progress in our companywide profit improvement activities and the slight weakening of the yen, we have revised upwardly our consolidated forecast for the current fiscal year, and also forecast a full-year profit, our first in five years.”
In Japan, Toyota sales totaled 1.668 million units, an increase of 310,564 units compared to the same period last fiscal year. Operating income from Japanese operations increased by 572.9 billion yen to 266.4 billion yen.
In North America, Toyota sales totaled 1.865 million units, an increase of 596,587 units compared to the same period last fiscal year. Operating income increased by 13.6 billion yen to 165.4 billion yen, including 31.3 billion yen of valuation gains/losses on interest rate swaps. Operating income, excluding the impact of valuation gains/losses on interest rate swaps, increased by 19.7 billion yen to 134.1 billion yen.
In Europe, Toyota sales totaled 603 thousand units, an increase of 23,365 units compared to the same period last fiscal year, while operating income increased by 12.7 billion yen to 21.3 billion yen.
In Asia, Toyota sales totaled 1.267 million units, an increase of 373,635 units compared to the same period last fiscal year, while operating income increased by 115.2 billion yen to 286.3 billion yen.
In Central and South America, Oceania and Africa, Toyota sales totaled 1.226 million units, an increase of 329,698 units compared to the same period last fiscal year, while operating income decreased by 4.9 billion yen to 91.0 billion yen.
Toyota financial services saw operating income decreased by 10.9 billion yen to 243.5 billion yen compared to the same period last year, including 27.7 billion yen of valuation gains/losses on interest rate swaps. Excluding valuation gains/losses, operating income decreased by 10.5 billion yen to 215.8 billion yen.
