August 2, 2019: Japanese car giant Toyota said Friday its first quarter net profit rose thanks to solid sales and cost cutting efforts, but it revised down full-year profit partly due to a stronger yen.
The maker of the Camry sedan and Prius hybrid reported net profit of 683 billion yen ($6.4 billion) in the April-June period, up 3.9 percent from a year before.
The company forecast full-year net profit would rise 14.2 percent to 2.15 billion yen, down from the previous forecast of 2.25 billion yen.
It cited a stronger yen but Executive Vice President Moritaka Yoshida said foreign exchange was not the only issue.
“It's not just about foreign exchange but because of the whole environment,” he said.
“Competition is expected to be very fierce,” he added, saying the automaker could not afford to be “complacent.”
Toyota said its operating profit climbed 8.7 percent to 742 billion yen, citing efforts to lower raw material costs, a strong sales push and a weaker yen against the dollar during the period.
