Toyota reports record profits but predicts stronger yen will drive fall

Japan’s carmaking giant Toyota Motor on Wednesday reported recordhigh profits for the last fiscal year, but said it is expecting a 35 percent tumble in net profit for the current year.

The world’s biggest selling motor company announced in a press conference in Tokyo that net profit rose 6.4 percent for the year that ended in March to 2.31 trillion yen ($21.3 billion), marking the third year in a row of record profits.

But it said it is anticipating a drop in net profits of 35 percent this year to 1.5 trillion yen (around $13.8 billion), falling far short of analysts’ forecasts of a profit of around 2.2 trillion yen ($20.2 billion), due to a sharp appreciation in the yen.

Toyota said it was expecting the dollar to average 105 yen this year, compared to a more favorable 120 yen last year.

Toyota President Akio Toyoda said the company had “benefited from an exchange rate tailwind that has helped raise our earnings above the level of our true capabilities.”

But while this “has enabled us to take on new challenges, that set of circumstances is likely to change for the worse this year.”