Toyota Says To Make More Investments After Making A Huge Pile

Toyota Motor forecast a 20% profit decline in the current financial year, citing looming investment in both its suppliers and strategy after it delivered blockbuster fourth-quarter earnings, Daniel Leussink reported for Reuters.

Toyota expects operating income to total 4.3 trillion yen in the year to March 2025, a 20% decline. I Photo: Toyota Malaysia

Despite the leaner forecast, the results from the world's top-selling automaker smashed market expectations.

Operating profit surged 78% in the January-March quarter. For the full year, it totaled 5.35 trillion yen ($34.5 billion) - the first time for a Japanese company to top 5 trillion yen, local media reported.

Toyota expects operating income to total 4.3 trillion yen in the year to March 2025, a 20% decline, as it invests in "human capital" - including providing support for labor costs at suppliers and dealers - as well as in its multi-pathway strategy.

While Toyota has been boosted by a weaker yen, it has also been a big beneficiary of cooling demand for electric vehicles in some markets, such as the US, where more customers are embracing petrol-electric hybrids, Toyota's traditional strength.

The Japanese automaker was long criticized for pursuing its "multi-pathway" strategy championing hybrids and plug-in hybrids as well as EVs, a stance that is increasingly looking prescient given consumer concerns about EV driving ranges and the availability of charging stations.