Toyota cuts profit forecast in half

Toyota Motor Corp.’s recovery is proving tougher than anticipated.

Already poised to lose its crown as the world’s largest carmaker this year, Toyota cut its profit forecast by more than half after Thailand’s worst floods in almost 70 years disrupted output of Camry and Prius vehicles.

Thailand’s floods exacerbated Japan-based Toyota’s struggles with the effects of Japan’s earthquake and tsunami in March and the surging yen. The reduced forecasts follow Ford Motor Co. on Thursday declaring its first quarterly dividend since 2006 and precede the likely concession of its three-year reign as the world’s biggest carmaker to General Motors Co.

“It’s acts of God after other acts of God,” Jody Lurie, an analyst at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia, said Friday. “If the U.S. automakers are doing some kind of voodoo to get Toyota out of the top spot, it’s definitely worked.”

Component shortages caused by Thailand’s floods disrupted production for Japanese automakers worldwide, compounding the challenges from the quake and the yen’s surge. Toyota said the Thai floods would cut earnings by 120 billion yen ($1.55 billion).

Net income will fall 56% to $2.32 billion in the 12 months ending March 31, the carmaker said in a statement. That’s less than half the profit projected by the average of analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

GM has taken advantage of Toyota’s disruptions, gaining market share in the U.S. with the Chevrolet Cruze compact and in China with Buick Excelle sedans. The Detroit-based automaker boosted global sales 9.2% to 6.79 million through the year’s first three quarters.