Thai floods hurt Toyota's profit outlook
TOKYO — Toyota Motor today sharply downgraded its earnings forecast for this fiscal year through March, blaming a strong yen and the massive flooding in Thailand.
Japan’s biggest automaker expects to book a net profit of 180 billion yen, down 54 percent from the 390 billion yen it projected in August.
Toyota expects to sell 7.38 million vehicles worldwide this year instead of 7.6 million it predicted four months ago.
The maker of the Camry and Corolla sedans is on track to lose its title as the world’s largest automaker this calendar year. Toyota sank to No. 3 in vehicle sales during the first six months, trailing U.S. rival General Motors and Volkswagen AG.
Toyota held off from releasing new earnings forecasts when it announced its first-half earnings results last month, citing uncertainties from the Thai floods that disrupted parts supplies.
It’s been a rough year for Japanese car makers, who were first hit with the earthquake and tsunami in March. They had largely rebounded from the disaster when they confronted the immense flooding in Thailand this autumn. Car production as far away as North America was scaled back as the creeping floodwaters put suppliers out of action.
The flooding, which was Thailand’s worst in half a century, will result in an output loss of 230,000 vehicles, said Executive Vice President Satoshi Ozawa at a news conference in Tokyo.
He told reporters the company had learned from its experience this year and that it would study ways to ensure that such unforeseen events “never again” lead to paralysis of supply chains.
