Profits slip, but Toyota offers brighter outlook

Surrounded by reporters, the Japanese car manufacturer answers Toyota (C) Managing Director Takahiko Ichiji to questions during a press conference in Tokyo on 7 February 2012.

By Paul Eisenstein, the Detroit Bureau

Toyota's profits slipped another 13.5 percent should reflect ongoing production problems in the last quarter of the manufacturer and the effects of the lopsided exchange rates - but the Japanese giant also pointed out that it has begun a long-awaited recovery, turning profits upward, during the last three months of the fiscal year Japanese started see.

Toyota profits slipped to 80.9 billion, or $1.05 billion for the October-December quarter, down from $93,6 billion yen the year before.  Sales in the quarter rose 4.1 per cent, 4.865 trillion yen or allusions to the manufacturer's slow return to normal production after the hammering it due to the 11 March Japan took $ 63.4 billion earthquake and tsunami and subsequent floods in Thailand.

Toyota Managing Director Takashi Ijichi specified during a Conference that continued during the current quarter back to normal again. Helps in the meantime "company-wide profit improvement efforts" cost trimming of approximately 60 billion yen in the fourth quarter.  As a result, Toyota raised its financial guidance for the full year to 200 billion yen, or $2.6 billion, up from 180 billion yen, or $2.3 billion, in an earlier forecast.

"We are confident that the basis of our business is now stronger," he said.

However, that is still less than half of the profit 408 billion yen in the previous year reported Toyota completed the only a few weeks after the last week Japanese natural disaster.

Toyota refused to a forecast for sales and earnings for the coming financial year but company representatives have recently showed optimistic that global production system of the manufacturer is now back to normal.

A modest rise in the number of vehicles which is expected now to sell Toyota for the whole financial year should reach the 7.410 million, up from a previous forecast of 7.380 million reflects that.  But thats also down heavily on the year of earlier levels.

For the calendar year 2011, Toyota slipped worldwide sales at only 7.9 million, a decrease of 6 percent.  As a result, it lost the global sales Crown, overthrow, fourth behind resurgent General Motors - which saw demand rise on 9,03 million vehicles Volkswagen, Renault-Nissan alliance.

For the first three quarters of fiscal year Toyota reports strong sales in most of its major markets, including Japan from 131,000 units to 1,357 million and North America after below 280,000 to 1,268 million. A notable exception is Europe, where the 4,000 vehicles sales rose to 580.000.

The manufacturer hopes to capture need to catch up with Toyota loyalists that might be made to wait rather than during last year to a different brand of product deficiency now switch to an aggressive catch-up mode.

This very week, announced Toyota ramp-up of production of compact Corolla - the company's all-time successful model - at a new plant in Mississippi.  Add a second layer will increase to 150,000 a year.

But industry analysts warn that Toyota should assume automatically that it can easily regain their previous dynamics.  "I buy back isn't the idea that they come, yell," Aaron Bragman, analyst at IHS automotive shows automotive map.  "they go to to have a fight on their hands."

The corolla is a good example, depending on the Bragman and other analysts.  It is now one of the oldest products in the segment, and with a view to increasing competition from newer models like the Chevrolet Cruze, Ford focus, Hyundai Elantra - the latter have won the coveted North American car of the year brought in last month.

Toyota has, ever, seen an increase in the demand for the new model of the Camry, which it introduced in autumn last year.

The increase in complications of the questions is the value of the yen.  In the last quarter, it traded 77 to the dollar, compared to 83 Yen in the year before.  Few expect Exchange rates in favour of Japan any time soon relocate.  Forces, which both sharp cost reductions and a reconsideration the Toyota manufacturing strategy - the traditional stressed has production in the domestic market.

The increase in output in the corolla work stressed that Toyota is reluctantly from this strategy shift.  Even before the manufacturer recently announced production relocated sold several export models in the United States, including the version of the Sienna minivan in South Korea.

Toyota has its latest result only a few days after rival Honda announced.  Manufacturers have its consolidated operating income for the fiscal third drop 64% to 44.2 billion yen or $578 million - in the worldwide sales of cars fell in the quarter of 830,000.  Honda offered guidelines for the for the full year of the operational forecast a decline in average price % to 200 billion yen, or $2.6 billion.