Toyota reveals record results

Toyota Motor Corp has announced record profits, sales, revenue and production for the 2024 financial year after a surge in fourth-quarter earnings.

Operating profit jumped 78 per cent in the January-March quarter, which helped take its full-year total to ¥5.35 trillion (NZ$57 billion). It is believed to be the first time a Japanese company has topped ¥5tn, reports Reuters.

Toyota’s recent financial performance has been boosted by a weaker yen and a cooling demand for fully electric vehicles (EVs) in some markets, such as the United States, where consumers appear to prefer petrol-electric hybrids.

The Japanese carmaker has been firm in sticking to a “multi-pathway” strategy of developing hybrids and plug-in hybrids as well as EVs, while many rival marques have put a greater focus on shifting to zero-emitters.

Other highlights of the full year ended March 31, 2024, include net income more than doubling from the previous period to reach ¥5.1tn and revenue jumping 21 per cent to ¥45.1tn.

The company and its subsidiaries also produced a record 11.2 million vehicles in the same period, which was up 4.5 per cent from the previous fiscal year, and global retail sales rose five per cent to a record 11.1m vehicles

Despite the rosy annual results, the company revealed on May 8 that it expects operating profit to drop 20 per cent to ¥4.3tn in the current financial year.

The predicted decline is based on plans to invest in labour costs at suppliers and dealers and support for the company’s model strategy.

Toyota also intends to spend ¥1.7tn this year in growing areas such as artificial intelligence and software.

Koji Sato, pictured, president and chief executive officer, says: “We’ll make investments in order to firmly protect the supply chain.

“Even though our operations are run very efficiently, there are many things that still need to be changed to some extent.”