Tokyo: Toyota on Thursday said it booked a record net profit of $17.9 billion in the past fiscal year as the world's biggest automaker saw a recovery in major markets and got a boost from the weaker yen.
"Our consolidated operating income increased due to increased vehicle sales mainly in Japan and North America and to group-wide cost reduction activities," company president Akio Toyoda said in a statement. For the current fiscal year to March 2015, Toyota said it was on track to earn a slightly weaker net profit of 1.78 trillion yen on 25.7 trillion yen in revenue.
The buoyant results underscore a recovery not only for the Camry and Corolla maker but also for rival Japanese auto giants including Nissan and Honda, which saw its net profit in the past fiscal year soar 56.4 percent to 574 billion yen.
Nissan, Japan's number two automaker, reports its annual financial results next week. The trio have been big winners over the past year as a sharp drop in the yen inflated exporters' repatriated profits, further boosted by improved overseas demand in key markets including the United States and China.
